Qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Posted on Apr 16, 2022 by George Penny
The starting grid for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto has just been validated. After 3 qualifying sessions of 20 minutes for each of the 3 drivers, the lap times gave their verdict. With the new calculation method, made on the average of the 2 best times,
Team Moto Ain ranks in a very good 7th position, and two places better than in 2021. If the ranking was made on the overall average of the 3 riders, like last year, the team would have won another place. This result is therefore very encouraging. The team is progressing. another reason for satisfaction, Corentin Perolari, Claudio Corti and Bradley Smith are held in barely 2 tenths. The trio is very homogeneous. This makes it possible to improve the settings of the bike for the 3 riders at the same time.
Pierre Chapuis – Director of the Moto Ain team:
"I am satisfied and happy with qualifying. Technically and thanks to our partners such as SEMC distribution (Racing Service Brembo France), we have managed to improve our "private" Yamaha R1 once again. The Bugatti circuit is a fairly demanding circuit for the brakes. It's always difficult to find the right setting. Brembo has provided us with wider, lighter brake calipers with bigger pistons. The brakes heat up less, and the bite and feeling are much improved. Only 3 factory teams are equipped with this caliper, and we are the only private team to have it. Bradley, Claudio and Corentin come from speed (motoGP and Supersport). They know how to brake hard, very hard. So they have the capabilities to use these new stirrups.And on paper, the results are there.
I am also very happy with the feedback from the public. Even if for some teams, it doesn't seem important, it seems essential to me. The 24 hours of Le Mans, motorcycle and car, are iconic races that have made their notoriety thanks to the pilots, but also because they are very popular. Motorcycle competitions are a spectacle. And doing a show without an audience doesn't make sense in the long run."