Bradley Smith sets surprising pace on the first day of #FrenchGP

2015-05-15 10:05
The surprise of the day at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France came from Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who in FP2 was the fastest of the day with a 1'34.179 lap on an incredibly sunny day at the Pays de la Loire track.

While all the riders improved on their morning times in FP2, Smith seemed to be inspired - either by the fact that it was the home race for his French team, or by the equally impressive performance of his compatriot Danny Kent in Moto3™.

British fans have dreamed of a day dominated by Brit riders and this was the closest they have come in a while, only missing Sam Lowes at the top of the time sheets in Moto2™.

After a great weekend in Jerez, Jorge Lorenzo achieved the second best time after a consistently fast session, with Andrea Dovizioso third. The Italian had been first in FP1, perhaps trying to set the stage for Ducati victory at Le Mans - something that has never happened before.

Cal Crutchlow (CWM-LCR Honda) was fourth in both sessions of the day, while in fifth position on the combined times list was MotoGP World Champion Marc Márquez, who spent the morning trying different solutions such as the swingarm which premiered at the recent test at Jerez. At the beginning of the session he suffered an electrical problem that forced him to walk back to the pits.

The current championship leader Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), ended in sixth place, only one place above the newly-returned Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), who makes a comeback this weekend after his arm pump problems forced a temporary withdrawal since the first race of the year in Qatar.

Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and his brother Aleix (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ended the day together, in eighth and ninth positions respectively. Pol had a great weekend at Le Mans last year as a rookie, finishing the race in fourth. That combined with the fact that his team mate Smith was fastest today and that this is the local race for his team, means it would not be shocking to see Pol put on a good show on Sunday.

Pol’s brother Aleix was experimenting with different tyre compounds on his GSX-RR during Free Practice. He ended the day ninth and continues the difficult task of racing an all-new machine, testing and setting up his bike for the first time for almost every circuit in the 2015 season.

The second official Ducati Team rider, Andrea Iannone, finished in a creditable eleventh. The rider returned to action this week after dislocating his left shoulder on a scheduled test at Mugello.

Australian Jack Miller (CWM-LCR Honda) was the first Open class bike on the combined free practice times today, with a 13th position.


Rabat calls the shots in Le Mans

The defending champion of the Moto2 class dominates the first two sessions of Free Practice at Le Mans.

The first day of testing at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at Le Mans was very positive for the Moto2™ World Champion. Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Estrella Galicia 0'0) led both sessions and set the pace in FP2 with a 1’37.625 lap.

After a difficult start to the season in his Spanish title defence, he wasted no time from the first session of the day, setting a consistent rhythm which - if it continues - could see him take his first victory of the year on Sunday.

Behind Rabat, Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Intewetten Racing) was second in both sessions. Luthi likes Le Mans - with two victories in 125cc victory and a third in Moto2. If there is a circuit in which Luthi can expect to try for victory, we are certainly there this weekend.

Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) arrives as championship leader to his home race in Le Mans. Finishing third in FP1 and fourth in FP2, the Frenchman is sticking to his plan of just going as fast as he can and taking his shot on race day.

Sam Lowes (Speed ​​Up Racing) will be hoping to make up for his disappointing race two weeks ago at the Spanish GP, which he left without points. With a new title sponsor for the French round, the Brit will be gunning for redemption on Sunday and a result that keeps him in the title fight.

Rookie Alex Rins (Páginas Amarillas HP 40) came in 6th. After his result at Jerez, where he lost it in the final corner when trying desperately for second place, the Spaniard will want to do better and so far so good, especially since before today he had never ridden anything bigger than a single-cylinder 250 at Le Mans.

Behind Rins, veteran Julian Simon (QMMF Racing Team) finished in seventh place, ahead of Jonas Folger (Team AGR). Folger’s teammate Axel Pons (AGR Team) was the victim of a spectacular crash, but fortunately he seems to have emerged unscathed.


Danny Kent continues to lay down the law in Moto3™

The Leopard Racing rider again established himself as master of the Moto3 class during Free Practice in Le Mans.

The FP1 and FP2 sessions of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France have seen British rider Danny Kent (Leopard Racing) at the top of the standings again, continuing his dominance of the 2015 season.

The Brit managed to lower his time in the FP2 session by nearly four seconds to make the best lap of the day at 1’42.731. In general the grid improved lap times over FP1, due to cold track conditions during the morning session.

Kent’s time is just one tenth off the pole position time from last year, which is not a bad way to start the weekend.

Second on the combined times sheet for the day was Livio Loi (RW Racing GP), who seemed as at home in Le Mans as he was in Argentina a few weeks ago. Third-placed Fabio Quartararo (Estrella Galicia 0,0), started the weekend positively on a track where he actually has little experience, despite the fact that he won last year's FIM CEV Repsol race here.

Rounding out the top five were Efrén Vázquez (Leopard Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Team Moto3). With the exception of Loi, the top five represent the top riders in the Moto3™ standings. All are on Hondas.

After the fastest five Hondas came the KTMs: with Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46), Miguel Oliveira and Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ranking from sixth to eighth respectively. After raising their game in the Jerez race and testing an evolution of the current frame in the test the next day, KTM has decided to continue with the current frame as its main riders found no clear benefits. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly, since rules state that the manufacturer has just one opportunity to introduce a new development over the season.

Closing the day’s top ten in Le Mans were Alexis Masbou (Saxoprint RTG) and Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0), who both suffered crashes during the sessions.

Juanfran Guevara (Mapfre Aspar Mahindra), who is still recovering from his recent broken collarbone, finished 25th. He was clearly suffering from the injury sustained in his clash with Hanika in Jerez.

Source: MotoGP

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