If
Casey Stoner and Ducati can again beat
Valentino Rossi and Yamaha at this weekend's French Grand Prix, then they can probably beat them anywhere.
A stunning start to the new 800cc era has seen Stoner win three of the first four rounds of the 2007
MotoGP World Championship - Rossi taking victory in the other - but the Le Mans circuit should mark Casey's biggest test so far.
The combination of Stoner's unshakable confidence,
Bridgestone's super-consistent race tyres and the amazing top speed of the new Ducati Desmosedici has allowed the 21-year-old Australian to build a 15 point lead over Rossi.
However, the tight 2.597 mile Bugatti circuit at Le Mans has no long straights - negating Ducati's top speed advantage - is the home circuit of Yamaha's tyre supplier Michelin - suggesting they should have the upper hand - and is traditionally a track where Yamaha machines perform well, stretching back to the 500cc era. Rossi was also leading comfortably last year when he suffered a mechanical problem and has won the French event on two previous occasions.
Whilst refusing to admit defeat, Rossi claimed to be very pleased with second place to Stoner last time out at Shanghai, a circuit with the longest straight on the MotoGP calendar and potentially Yamaha's worst of the year. Rossi is thus relishing a more equal battle with Stoner this weekend, but Casey and Ducati would in turn like nothing more than to cause yet another upset - especially since victory this weekend cant be brushed off as another a 'horsepower' triumph by their rivals.
Meanwhile, Rossi's 2006 Le Mans retirement allowed Gresini Honda's
Marco Melandri to win the race from Ducati's
Loris Capirossi and Repsol Honda's
Dani Pedrosa.
