Aoyama: Stop-and-go suits the Japanese

Reigning 250cc world champion and 2010 MotoGP rookie Hiroshi Aoyama says the Le Mans circuit tends to suit Japanese riders due to its similarity with Motegi.

Both circuits contain a lot of hard braking and accelerating and Aoyama will be looking to exploit the one day test after Jerez to beat his best MotoGP finish tenth on Sunday.

"I expect a lot from Le Mans," said the Interwetten Honda rider. "I know the track and don't mind it, but the weather is very critical there. It is always dry/rain/dry/rain and never all dry or all wet. But the layout of the track is very close to the Motegi track with a lot of stop-and-go sections and that suits the Japanese riders somehow.

"We have tested a lot in Jerez the day after the race and I have a much better feeling with the bike now. I hope the feeling will be there from the first practice on and to improve during these sessions to be strong in the race. Nevertheless I never had a podium there, so we will have to wait and see what happens," he declared.

"In Jerez Hiro?s first lap was not very lucky," added team manager Daniel Epp. "That was a pity, but this happens. For Le Mans I hope that Hiro can tie up with the performance he showed in Qatar. The whole team deserves a good result and I hope that we can achieve that in the third race of the season."