Rain played a big part in the first day of the French GP, which takes place this weekend at the historic Le Mans circuit. The Moto3 riders were unable to put in a single lap with slicks due to wet conditions, although the newly relayed surface offered a surprisingly positive level of grip under the circumstances. On the combined timesheet for the day, Niccolo Antonelli was second fastest, with wildcard Danny Kent in eighth position -after going second in FP2- and Bo Bendsneyder in ninth. The lower cylinder class had to start the day with wet tyres, after rain throughout Thursday left the asphalt damp. All three Red Bull KTM Ajo riders were comfortable in the conditions, and Danny Kent was the first to take the iniciative -placing himself at the head of the timesheet in the second half of FP1. However, in the end, Antonelli finished the 40-minute session with a lap that put him second -1:51.508-, with Kent and Bendsneyer in eighth -1:51.668- and ninth -1:51.732- position, respectively. In the afternoon, heavy rain fell at the beginning of FP2. Nevertheless, this did not prevent the Red Bull KTM Ajo trio from continuing to define their best setup. Kent was once again the one setting the pace, continually lowering his lap times. A crash at Turn 9 with 3 minutes remaining, from which he escaped unharmed, forced him to settle for second place with a top time of 1:53.295. As in FP1, Antonelli put in a great final lap to finish third -1:53.347-, while Bendsneyder was twelfth -1:54.115-. The track conditions prevented them from lowering the times they had set in the morning.
64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“Today was a positive day. We used it to try different setups in the rain. In principle, for the rest of the weekend conditions will be dry, and I hope that is the case. Even so, I think we have a good setup in wet conditions, so if in the race or during qualifying we go out on track in wet conditions, we will be prepared. With the conditions we’ve had this Friday, the new asphalt has responded in a good way; it has a lot of grip and I feel comfortable.”
Results FP1 :
POS | Rider | TEAM | Fastest lap |
1 | Adam NORRODIN | SIC Racing Team | 1’51.468 |
2 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’51.508 |
3 | Andrea MIGNO | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’51.512 |
4 | Gabriel RODRIGO | RBA BOE Racing Team | 1’51.611 |
5 | Marco BEZZECCHI | CIP | 1’51.624 |
6 | Nicolo BULEGA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’51.629 |
7 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Aspar Mahindra Moto3 | 1’51.652 |
8 | Danny KENT | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’51.668 |
9 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’51.732 |
10 | Aron CANET | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | 1’51.782 |
11 | Joan MIR | Leopard Racing | 1’51.959 |
12 | Enea BASTIANINI | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | 1’52.026 |
13 | Tony ARBOLINO | SIC58 Squadra Corse | 1’52.125 |
14 | John MCPHEE | British Talent Team | 1’52.137 |
15 | Jakub KORNFEIL | Peugeot MC Saxoprint | 1’52.293 |
16 | Juanfran GUEVARA | RBA BOE Racing Team | 1’52.322 |
17 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | SIC58 Squadra Corse | 1’52.518 |
18 | Darryn BINDER | Platinum Bay Real Estate | 1’52.689 |
19 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | 1’52.706 |
20 | Ayumu SASAKI | SIC Racing Team | 1’52.783 |
21 | Jorge MARTIN | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | 1’52.841 |
22 | Jules DANILO | Marinelli Rivacold Snipers | 1’53.042 |
23 | Romano FENATI | Marinelli Rivacold Snipers | 1’53.126 |
24 | Livio LOI | Leopard Racing | 1’53.217 |
25 | Manuel PAGLIANI | CIP | 1’53.394 |
26 | Albert ARENAS | Aspar Mahindra Moto3 | 1’53.692 |
27 | Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT | Honda Team Asia | 1’53.764 |
28 | Philipp OETTL | Südmetall Schedl GP Racing | 1’53.999 |
29 | Maria HERRERA | AGR Team | 1’54.065 |
30 | Marcos RAMIREZ | Platinum Bay Real Estate | 1’54.093 |
31 | Kaito TOBA | Honda Team Asia | 1’55.036 |
32 | Patrik PULKKINEN | Peugeot MC Saxoprint | 1’55.153 |
Source: motogp.com, ajo.fi