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Written by:
SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com
SPEEDtv.com
05/14/2008 - 12:38 PM
Le Mans, France
250cc
In 250cc, Mika Kallio holds a 21-point advantage over Mattia Pasini, with both having an impressive record of podium finishes thus far in 2008. Kallio has been on the rostrum at every race to date, including victories at Jerez and the most recent round in Shanghai. Pasini has only failed to place on the rostrum in Portugal, with a strong start to his quarter-litre category career onboard the Polaris World Aprilia.
Three different manufacturers are featured in the top four, with the KTM of Kallio ahead of Aprilia’s Pasini and Hector Barbera and Honda’s Yuki Takahashi. The JiR Team Scot rider took his first ever World Championship victory at Le Mans in 2006 and, two years and a series of injury setbacks later, is finally back on top form and in the fight for podiums in the class.
Takahashi’s fellow Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama moved up to fifth with a second place in Shanghai, completing a Red Bull KTM one-two at the Chinese circuit. The top six is completed by expected title challenger Alvaro Bautista, who has been hit by a series of unfortunate events that have taken their toll on his points tally. The Mapfre Aspar rider finished eighth in Le Mans last season.
125cc
Despite crashing out of the 125cc race in Shanghai, Simone Corsi is still sitting pretty at the top of the lower cylinder category classification. The Jack&Jones WRB rider leads Belson Derbi’s Joan Olive and his own teammate Nico Terol by nine points, with neither of his rivals able to take advantage as victory went to surprise package Andrea Iannone in China.
Mike di Meglio is just one point behind the second and third placed riders, riding the second Derbi machine to feature in the top four. He has a chance to take the lead in the World Championship at his home Grand Prix, a result that would be the perfect start to the race day action for local spectators.
Stefan Bradl and Sergio Gadea round off the tightly packed top six, which has no place for two of the expected title challengers at the beginning of the season. Reigning World Champion Gabor Talmacsi was finally back on podium form with a third place in Shanghai, but currently lies in eighth place, whilst perennial poleman Bradley Smith has just sixteen points to his name despite starting at the head of the grid for three of the opening four races.
Circuit Info
Built in 1965 around the existing 24-Hour track, the Le Mans Grand Prix circuit lies 5km south of the city of Le Mans and 200km south-west of Paris. The venue has hosted Grand Prix since the late sixties but a serious accident to Spanish rider Alberto Puig in 1995 saw it struck off the calendar until 2000 whilst stringent safety improvements were carried out. Le Mans is a tight track dominated by first gear corners that place the emphasis on late braking and hard acceleration, whilst rear end traction is also a key area. With the capacity to comfortably accommodate up to 100,000 spectators, the Bugatti circuit is always an extremely popular venue with fans.
This year the famous Garage Vert double-apex right-hander undergoes some slight modifications, meaning there will be new lap records in all classes.
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