Stefan Bradl has been the king of qualifying so far this year and with two wins out of three, leads the Moto2 World Championship as it arrives at Le Mans.
The Viessman Kalex rider has been unbeatable on a Saturday afternoon so far but on Sundays he has come across a tough adversary in Andrea Iannone.
The fiery Italian hasn't even qualified in the top ten so far this year but followed up second place in Qatar with a stunning victory in the wet at Jerez. In truth, Iannone should have a brace of wins himself but crashed out in Estoril moments after overtaking Bradl for the lead. As a result, he trails the German by 13 points.
Three top six finishes have elevated Simone Corsi into third in the World Championship. The Ioda Racing Project rider finished on the podium here last year and will hope to continue his consistent start to the season.
Like Iannone, Thomas Luthi also threw away a shot at race victory by sliding off the track in the early stages. The Swiss rider has established himself as a title contender, having started every race from the front row, and will once again go in search of his maiden Moto2 win.
Julian Simon will also attempt to break his duck after finishing runner-up for the sixth time two weeks ago. The Mapfre Aspar rider came within a tenth of a second of beating Bradl in Portugal but the result was enough to move him level with Luthi, 25 points off the lead.
An emotional third place last time out means Yuki Takahashi is also in the mix. The Japanese rider leads the challenge from the Gresini team who won last year in the hands of eventual champion Toni Elias.
Marc Marquez has experienced both the rough and the smooth of Moto2 racing so far this year. The 125cc World Champion has been firmly in the top ten throughout free practice and qualifying sessions, but has ended all three events in the gravel.
In fact he has been upstaged so far by his fellow 125cc graduates, Bradley Smith has seamlessly made the transition to the intermediate class and was only denied a third consecutive points finish by a puncture last time out in Portugal.
Pol Espargaro finished that race an excellent sixth to open his Moto2 account. The Spaniard tastes victory at Le Mans in the two-stroke class 12 months ago and will be hoping to make further strides this weekend.
Scott Redding's championship challenge has failed to materialise so far with the Gloucester teenager yet to register his first points of the campaign. Redding was the innocent party after colliding with Marquez in Portugal and needs a big result to keep the leaders in sight.
Fellow Briton Kev Coghlan has had a bright start to his debut season in the class, but a motocross accident in the run-up to Estoril hampered him throughout the weekend, eventually forcing him to miss the race. After another two weeks recovery, the Aeroport de Castello rider will hope to make a better fist of it this weekend.
The Moto2 field will take to the historic Le Mans circuit for first practice at 10:15 BST on Friday morning, and The Checkered Flag will have full coverage throughout the weekend.
