Dani Pedrosa the man on form as Hondas top day one in Le Mans

2013-05-18 15:29
Fresh from his win in the Spanish Grand Prix, Dani Pedrosa topped both Friday practice sessions at Le Mans at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, with the Repsol Honda Team rider leading teammate Marc Marquez and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi, as less than three tenths of a second covered the top five riders.

Heading into the afternoon session, there was a sense of urgency to seal top ten positions for Q2 Qualifying, not only because a small shower had preceded the session, but also as rain is forecast to hit the iconic venue on Saturday. Pedrosa led with 1’34.035 as the top eight riders of the afternoon beat the leading lap time of the morning period. Behind Marquez and Rossi, Yamaha’s world champion Jorge Lorenzo and LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl completed the top five. Lorenzo was not particularly happy with his session, hoping that set-up changes overnight will help him tomorrow.

Cal Crutchlow led the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 charge from sixth position as teammate Bradley Smith took a pair of almost identical trips through the Dunlop gravel trap across the opening couple of sessions. Crutchlow was another displeased Yamaha rider, not only as he was struggling with chatter and overheating brakes, but also as he woke up with a cold this morning. There was a big moment for Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone, who ended the day in 12th place after suffering an accident on the exit of Raccordement, the final corner of the track. He was fortunately not badly hurt, and was able to finish the session on his number-two bike.

On the Ignite Pramac Racing bike, Michele Pirro is standing in for the recovering Ben Spies, while Karel Abraham is back in action for Cardion AB Motoracing. The top ten was rounded out by Ducati Team duo Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden plus GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista and Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro - the leading CRT runner. Hayden showed promising signs by being the second fastest man in the second sector, yet was loosing too much ground in other parts of the track. Espargaro’s teammate and home rider Randy de Puniet ended the day 13th quickest. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Claudio Corti continued to experiment with a new air in-take on his FTR-Kawasaki that he first tried in Jerez, whilst teammate Colin Edwards tried a new chassis and swingarm, which he announced himself pleased with.


Moto2

Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding was the fastest man on day one of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans, as the Brit saw off Interwetten Paddock Moto2’s Tom Luthi by just under four tenths of a second, whilst Tuenti HP 40’s championship-leading Esteve Rabat suffered a fall in the Chemin aux Boeufs s-bends.

Already quickest as the morning session drew to a close on a stereotypically changeable day for weather, Redding reduced the leading time to 1’38.283 in the completely dry afternoon period. Behind Luthi and Simon, Qatar podium finisher Takaaki Nakagami and Dominique Aegerter were fourth and fifth for Italtrans and Technomag carXpert, correspondingly. Luthi commented afterwards that he still has some concerns with his arm, as he is not sure how it will hold up over race distance.

Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2’s Nico Terol was sixth as the top ten was rounded out by Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Mattia Pasini, Desguaces La Torre Maptaq’s Xavier Simeon and NGM’s Simone Corsi. Britain’s Gino Rea was 20th while debuting the FTR bike of his privately-entered Gino Rea Race Team, while last year’s Moto3™ race winner, Tech 3 Racing’s Louis Rossi, was one of several riders to suffer a fall in the morning session. During the afternoon, series leader Rabat crashed at Turn 9, which meant he ended proceedings in 14th place.


Moto3

Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins set the practice pace as Moto3™ track action began on Friday ahead of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans. The Spaniard moved ahead of Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Luis Salom as an unforeseen flurry of hail in the final minutes disrupted the end of the second session.

Rins led with a best lap time of 1’44.147, beating Folger by just six thousandths of a second. Behind third-placed Salom was Team Calvo’s Maverick Viñales, who had topped the morning session but suffered a highside accident on the exit of the Bleus ‘S’ in the afternoon. Also falling was Mahindra Racing’s Efren Vazquez, who crashed at Garage Vert and fractured his right collarbone.

Danny Webb was fifth for Ambrogio Racing as he and teammate Brad Binder sandwiched Avant Tecno’s Niklas Ajo into sixth position. The top ten was completed by La Fonte Tascaracing’s Alessandro Tonucci, GO&FUN Gresini Moto3’s Niccolo Antonelli and San Carlo Team Italia’s Romano Fenati. The earlier morning session at Le Mans was very much incident-free, with Salom being one of few riders to run off the historic track which is all set to host the fourth round of the 2013 campaign.

Source: MotoGP

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