French pair ready to shine at home race

Looking ahead to their home race in a special press conference this week MotoGP star Randy de Puniet and 250cc rider Jules Cluzel previewed the event in the company of promoter Claude Michy and the French Motorcycle Federation president, former GP rider Jacques Bolle.

De Puniet arrives at the 15th-17th May Grand Prix de France in good form having added to his good results in Qatar and Japan with an excellent fourth place in Jerez last weekend.

“Last time out was my best race with LCR, so now I want to build on that and get as consistent as possible. It won't be easy of course, but at least we know we’ve been working in the right direction so far.”

“Racing at home in Le Mans is always something special,” he added. “But I can’t get carried away, I have to keep my focus and just treat it as any other race. However, obviously getting a good result here would be a great feeling.”

Cluzel, meanwhile, is in great spirits having achieved a surprise podium in Qatar and another top ten finish at Jerez. Although he suffered a DNF in Japan, 2009 is already a big contrast to his 2008 season on 125cc machinery - in which he failed to score a single point.

The Matteoni Racing man stated, “Nobody expected me to be at the front and finish on the podium in Qatar, so it was a great way to kick off the year after a fairly short preseason. Moving back up from 125cc, I got used to 250cc again quite quickly and everything really clicked with the team.

“If Qatar was a dream come true, the following race in Japan was really tricky as we had very little mileage ahead of the race. It was good to be back with normal conditions in Jerez. The race was really tough, but finishing in the top eight is a satisfying result. Now I want to keep it up and I’ll arrive at Le Mans in the best possible condition.”