Right here’s why MotoGP doesn’t race the total monitor at Le Mans

MotoGP races everywhere in the world. From Spain to Japan, America to Germany, and nearly in all places in between – sorry, penguins, there’s nonetheless no Antarctic GP but – and at tracks new and previous. And a few even in locales acquainted to these outdoors the world of two-wheeled racing.

Every year, MotoGP’s circus descends upon a city in France referred to as Le Mans. And, figuring out just a little bit about racing, or being an informal endurance racing fan, you’ll little doubt acknowledge the title because the vacation spot it’s, being the house of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s the place the place Ford beat Ferrari. The place Porsche reigns supreme. And the place Mark Webber went airborne in a Mercedes many years in the past in a clip that’ll without end be part of web tradition.

However in a shock to these new to MotoGP, and even a number of the OGs who’ve by no means bothered to ask, whenever you watch the race, the riders aren’t racing Le Mans’ almost nine-mile format. As a substitute, they’re racing throughout the confines of the a lot smaller purpose-built Bugatti circuit.

What provides? Glad you requested. They by no means raced there to start with. However the motive they’ve but to is due to security.

The present crop of MotoGP tracks are all in regards to the security of the riders, as road circuits have been eliminated utterly from the calendar. After quite a few life-ending crashes, together with numerous accidents, road circuits have been deemed too harmful for the riders. Even well-known circuits with histories stretching again over a century have been banned, see the Isle of Man TT’s legacy within the sport. However the riders have been fed up with watching their brethren die on a race weekend, so road circuits have been regularly phased out for purpose-built tracks the place they might higher management the security.

That, nonetheless, isn’t the one motive why Circuit de la Sarthe isn’t on the calendar. It’s not on there as riders have by no means raced its 8.467-mile monitor size.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Picture by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Pictures

Bugatti Circuit, the place MotoGP holds its Le Mans race weekend, was constructed in 1965 and named after the person himself, Ettore Bugatti. It was created to offer the city a everlasting racing facility as the large 24-hour endurance race used closed public roads. Why not give the world a spot someplace everlasting that may play host all 12 months spherical?

The present monitor is 2.6-miles lengthy and makes use of parts of the primary monitor’s format, in addition to purpose-built parts, and has seen quite a few security upgrades over time to permit the top-class motorbike racing sequence to proceed pounding its pavement. Security upgrades by the years have meant higher run-off areas and security limitations, together with method higher medical amenities.

And as you’d would possibly anticipate, these could be issues that’d be extremely tough to handle and implement alongside the almost nine-mile format of the primary circuit.

However motorbike racing solely got here to Le Mans in 1969, 4 years after the Bugatti Circuit was created. So there isn’t the identical sort of historical past as endurance racing. It has, nonetheless, since turn out to be the house of French motorbike racing, having waxed and waned over time, just for the present iteration to start in 2000 and stay a everlasting fixture on the calendar ever since.

It’s additionally house to the World Sidecar Championships, which if you happen to’ve by no means watched, I completely implore you to take action.

So, that’s the reason MotoGP doesn’t race at Le Mans’ full monitor. It by no means has, nor doubtless ever will, particularly in a motorcycling world so divided on the re-addition of road circuits to the calendar. Some folks need them, many don’t. And like the explanation behind why MotoGP doesn’t race at Le Mans, it’s all about danger vs. security.

Pictures from French GP – Thursday