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pair arrive in France hoping for track conditions that are kinder to the tires than in Jerez where extremely short tire life made for a complicated race day.
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**_ legend Jean Claude Olivier who passed away tragically earlier this year in a road traffic accident. Known to all as ‘JCO’, Olivier was a Yamaha icon and loyal employee for 45 years until his retirement in 2010. JCO competed in the Dakar Rally for Yamaha from 1979 to 1989, finishing second in 1985. A former President of Yamaha Motor France, he was a guiding light in numerous classes of motorcycle racing for Yamaha Motor France. There will also be a display of images inside Yamaha’s Hospitality depicting highlights of Yamaha Motor France’s story in road racing.
This year will be the 56th time the Grand Prix has run at the Le Mans circuit and should as always guarantee a bumper crowd of racing fans. The major challenges of the team will be to set up the YZR-M1 to provide Lorenzo and Rossi with optimum balance and control under hard braking whilst retaining the bike’s class leading balance to tackle the tight chicanes and hairpins and short straights.
