The Bugatti circuit at Le Mans has featured on the MotoGP calendar off and on for decades, and regularly since 2000. So it’s a well known track and on the plus side for beginners, the layout isn’t that hard to learn.

But it’s actually really easy to fall of the bike here with the narrow track, tight hairpins and long braking zones. Plus the sun often obscures some of the braking and turn in points. It’s a circuit that needs some practice to get used to.

Thankfully, after some testing, I managed to find a good setup that was easier to ride consistently and stay on the bike once I got used to the track.

Here is a bike setup for the MotoGP class for Le Mans:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 1
    • Oil Quantity – 1
    • Front Spring Hardness – 1
    • Front Swingarm compression – 4
    • Front Swingarm extension – 7
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 7
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 3
    • Single shock absorber compression – 4
    • Single shock absorber extension – 7
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 1
    • Trail – 7
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 3
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 5-5-4-4-3-3
    • Final ratio – 4
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 5
    • Anti-wheelie – 5
    • Power mapping – 2

I found this a really nice setup to ride round Le Mans, it was nicely tuned to take the corners well and it gives you plenty of braking power, which you definitely need on this track (more on this below).

Alternative Le Mans Circuit MotoGP Class Bike Setup

The above setup uses some stiffer values for the suspension and geometry. It worked well for me, but if you prefer softer bike settings, here’s an alternate setup to try:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 1
    • Oil Quantity – 3
    • Front Spring Hardness – 2
    • Front Swingarm compression – 3
    • Front Swingarm extension – 3
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 5
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 4
    • Single shock absorber compression – 6
    • Single shock absorber extension – 6
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 1
    • Trail – 5
    • Steering plate position – 6
    • Rear swingarm length – 2
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 4-5-5-5-6-6
    • Final ratio – 4
    • Slipper clutch – 2
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 3
    • Anti-wheelie – 3
    • Power mapping – 3

I didn’t like this setup so much; I couldn’t lap as consistently as the first setup. But everyone is different to try it out and see what you think.

Moto2 and Moto3 Class Bike Setups For Le Mans

The less powerful Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes are a little easier to control and get stopped for the tricky corners on this track. But a custom setup can still sometimes come in useful.

Check out our generic setups page which has custom generic setups for both Moto2 and Moto3 bikes to get started with and test out. If I find any more bespoke setups for these bikes, I’ll add them here.

Tips For Riding Around Le Mans

The Le Mans track looks deceptively easy, but there are some challenges around this track and it still takes some getting used to Here’s a few tips for riding round here.

Kerbs – Some of the kerbs are a little flatter and more forgiving that at other tracks, so you can ride across them a little more aggressively to gain lap time. The chicanes especially. It’s a fine line though, and they can still spit you off if you over-do it.

Braking zones – You need to start braking super early to get stopped for those 3 successive sharp hairpins in the first half of the lap. You need just a short squirt on the accelerator before braking for these corners on the MotoGP bikes. It’s very easy to over-run these hairpins by staying on the power too long and if you do, there’s sand traps on the outside of all of them so you’ll be off the bike and your lap is gone.

Wheelies – The front of the bike really wants to come up a lot on this track. Set a high Anti-Wheelie value of 4 or 5 on your ECU menu and be smooth and progressive on the power out of corners to counter this.