Leading MotoGP riders have called for the future French Grand Prix at Le Mans to be postponed later in the year to avoid “nightmare” weather conditions.
The French GP this weekend was ridden in cold and mostly wet conditions, which has resulted in 77 falls in all classes on Friday and Saturday so far.
Poleman Fabio Quartararo noted on Friday that the warm-up of the tires at Le Mans was “a total disaster” as many drivers agreed with his comments.
The warm-up exercises on Sunday have been delayed by 40 minutes from the original schedule due to low temperatures. Some drivers are demanding that the race weekend be postponed to a later date in the future to avoid this.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was the loudest about the safety of the event at this time of year. The Spaniard admitted that he was “very angry”.
“If we talk about safety a lot, we can’t get to Le Mans during this time,” said Espargaro on Saturday.
“The tires don’t work. We’ve seen 65, 70 crashes, one guy has already had an operation [Moto2 rider Yari Montella].
“We can’t get to Le Mans with 12 degrees on the ground because the tires that Michelin and Dunlop bring us don’t work.
“Well, I don’t know if it’s funny for anyone to see us crash, but it’s not so for us.
“Everyone crashes, so are we all idiots? No we are not so I am very angry.
“Today I was quick in the wet, it’s not that I don’t want to ride in the wet – it’s part of my job, I want to ride in the wet, it’s not a problem.
“But not at 12 degrees. Why don’t we change the race for a normal situation?
“If not, you are pushing the tire manufacturers to make special tires for Le Mans, which I think is impossible.”
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Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales reiterated these assessments, adding that changing the date would create a “better show” compared to safety.
“I really wish they could postpone the Le Mans race because it’s such a beautiful track, but this cold temperature makes the track a nightmare,” said Vinales.
“It will probably be eight degrees, seven degrees in the warm-up. It’s difficult, it’s very dangerous.
“I hope they can move around to at least enjoy the track because Le Mans is one of the nicest tracks, but it makes it difficult when it’s really cold.
“I think there will be better races and a better show for sure.”
Nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi also believes changing the date would be positive, but admits that it is not up to the rider to decide.
“When we talk to Michelin, we usually need 20 degrees on the ground to be safe,” said the Petronas SRT driver.
“So it means that there are 15, 16 in the air, so the whole weekend is too dangerous because it’s seven, eight, nine degrees and always less than 15 on the track.
“Another thing is the amount of rain, it’s like you’re in Malaysia.
“It starts raining and raining for five minutes, but there is 40 cm of water or 20 cm of water [on track] and after it stops.
“So this combination of lots of water and low temperature is the worst.
“The weather may be a little better in June, but this is a choice that is not for us.
“There’s a lot of dynamism behind that that I honestly don’t know.”