Honda LCR rider Carlos Checa was in top form with the third fastest time in today’s free practice in advance of Sunday’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans. Checa’s best lap was just 0.179s behind the fastest TIME posted by Italian Marco Melandri, who led a trio of Honda’s on the time sheets. Factory rider Dani Pedrosa joined the Honda domination with the second fastest time.

In overcast and cool conditions, with a very light sprinkle of rain at the end of the session, Checa put in a strong showing on the 4.1 km circuit that demands heavy braking and hard acceleration. Checa’s performance confirmed his predictions that his Honda RC212V would be suited to the compact Le Mans circuit.

CHECA: Third - 1’35.498

CHECA: “Practice went very well today and like Jerez I am competitive with the times very close. In braking and on the short straights the Honda has raised our expectations here, and today our tyre choice was also very good. I still have one tyre option to test tomorrow and just refine the set-up, perhaps find some more front-end contact. At this track there are overtaking opportunities on the brakes if you can be close to the bike in front. At the end of the session I stayed out in the light rain, just to get a feeling for the track in these conditions.”

In the 250cc class Irish rookie Eugene Laverty qualified 23rd on the provisional grid in his first appearance at Le Mans.

LAVERTY: “I was able to follow some Honda riders to help learn the track and I improved my time by 1.2 seconds this afternoon. To be fast here you have to be aggressive, especially on the brakes, so I think I can be faster with improvements to the front suspension.”