MotoGP 2023
Round Five – Le Mans
After breaking the first metacarpal on his right hand in Portugal, Marc Marquez will return to racing his Repsol Honda Team RC213V in France. Having consulted with three separate medical teams, all involved are satisfied with the healing of the bone and Marc Marquez will be back on track in France.
The primary focus of the weekend will be getting back into the flow of a Grand Prix weekend and picking up where Marquez and the Honda RC213V left off. Marquez has stood on the top step of the podium on three occasions in the premier class in Le Mans.
Round five of the 2023 World Championship sees Grand Prix motorcycle racing cross a historic threshold, the French GP schedule to be the 1000th event. Starting in 1949, manufacturers and riders from across the world would begin to compete for the highest honour in two-wheeled racing. 1959 saw Honda take a first step into this world and take a maiden win two years later in 1961. Since then, the history of Honda and Grand Prix racing have been intertwined with Honda taking 817 victories across all Grand Prix classes to date.
Marc Marquez
“I am really happy to be back with the Repsol Honda Team, about to ride my bike again. First of all I want to thank my medical team for their professionalism and advice over the past few weeks. Of course as a rider you always want to be back as soon as possible, but with an injury like this it was really important to allow it to heal. Now I am here and fully focused on riding, I have no worries about the injury since it’s fully healed. Let’s see what the French GP brings and most importantly, work to our maximum.”
With a busy post-race test completed, Joan Mir arrives in Le Mans eager to find consistency and improvement. Having shown flashes of his potential during testing and the early races, there’s no doubt that Mir and the Honda RC213V have a lot more to give after a handful of trying rounds. Putting together a consistent weekend will be Mir’s primary focus, making the most of all the track time available. As always at Le Mans, the weather has the potential to turn the tides of any weekend but the forecast cooler conditions should suit Mir better than the scorching conditions in Jerez.
Joan Mir
“Arriving in France, we come with an open mind. We had a busy Monday test where we were able to try some things, especially working on the base setting of the bike. I am hoping that we will be able to take profit of this during the weekend. The French GP always has the extra element of the weather, often it is cold or raining. At the moment it looks a bit colder, but these cooler conditions seem to suit us better this year, so we are aiming to make the most of the situation we have. No matter what, we keep working together.”
MotoGP Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Bike | Points |
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | IT | Ducati | 87 |
| 2 | Marco Bezzecchi | IT | Ducati | 65 |
| 3 | Brad Binder | ZA | KTM | 62 |
| 4 | Jack Miller | AU | KTM | 49 |
| 5 | Maverick Viñales | ES | Aprilia | 48 |
| 6 | Luca Marini | IT | Ducati | 48 |
| 7 | Jorge Martin | ES | Ducati | 48 |
| 8 | Alex Rins | ES | Honda | 47 |
| 9 | Johann Zarco | FR | Ducati | 46 |
| 10 | Alex Marquez | ES | Ducati | 41 |
| 11 | Fabio Quartararo | FR | Yamaha | 40 |
| 12 | Franco Morbidelli | IT | Yamaha | 34 |
| 13 | Aleix Espargaro | ES | Aprilia | 29 |
| 14 | Miguel Oliveira | PT | Aprilia | 21 |
| 15 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | IT | Ducati | 17 |
| 16 | Augusto Fernandez | ES | KTM | 17 |
| 17 | Takaaki Nakagami | JP | Honda | 14 |
| 18 | Dani Pedrosa | ES | KTM | 13 |
| 19 | Marc Marquez | ES | Honda | 7 |
| 20 | Joan Mir | ES | Honda | 5 |
| 21 | Michele Pirro | IT | Ducati | 5 |
| 22 | Jonas Folger | DE | KTM | 4 |
| 23 | Raul Fernandez | ES | Aprilia | 3 |
| 24 | Stefan Bradl | DE | Honda | 2 |
| 25 | Iker Lecuona | ES | Honda | 0 |
2023 Le Mans MotoGP Weekend Schedule
Times in AEST
| Friday | ||
| Time | Class | Event |
| 1630 | MotoE | FP1 |
| 1700 | Moto3 | FP1 |
| 1750 | Moto2 | FP1 |
| 1845 | MotoGP | FP1 |
| 2035 | MotoE | FP2 |
| 2115 | Moto3 | FP2 |
| 2205 | Moto2 | FP2 |
| 2300 | MotoGP | FP2 |
| 0100 (Sat) | MotoE | Q1 |
| 0120 (Sat) | MotoE | Q2 |
| Saturday |
||
| Time | Class | Event |
| 1640 | Moto3 | FP3 |
| 1725 | Moto2 | FP3 |
| 1810 | MotoGP | Practice |
| 1850 | MotoGP | Q1 |
| 1950 | MotoGP | Q2 |
| 2010 | MotoE | R1 |
| 2050 | Moto3 | Q1 |
| 2115 | Moto3 | Q2 |
| 2145 | Moto2 | Q1 |
| 2210 | Moto2 | Q2 |
| 2300 | MotoGP | Sprint |
| 0010 (Sun) | MotoE | R2 |
| Sunday | ||
| Time | Class | Event |
| 1745 | MotoGP | WUP |
| 1900 | Moto3 | Race |
| 2015 | Moto2 | Race |
| 2200 | MotoGP | Race |
2023 MotoGP Calendar
| Rnd | Date | Location |
| 5 | May-14 | France, Le Mans |
| 6 | Jun-11 | Italy, Mugello |
| 7 | Jun-18 | Germany, Sachsenring |
| 8 | Jun-25 | Netherlands, Assen |
| 9 | Jul-09 | Kazakhstan, Sokol (Subject to homologation) |
| 10 | Aug-06 | Great Britain, Silverstone |
| 11 | Aug-20 | Austria, Red Bull Ring |
| 12 | Sep-03 | Catalunya, Catalunya |
| 13 | Sep-10 | San Marino, Misano |
| 14 | Sep-24 | India, Buddh (Subject to homologation) |
| 15 | Oct-01 | Japan, Motegi |
| 16 | Oct-15 | Indonesia, Mandalika |
| 17 | Oct-22 | Australia, Phillip Island |
| 18 | Oct-29 | Thailand, Chang |
| 19 | Nov-12 | Malaysia, Sepang |
| 20 | Nov-19 | Qatar, Lusail |
| 21 | Nov-26 | Valenciana, Valencia |
