Marc Marquez overshadows all to claim Le Mans pole
The final qualifying session of the Monster Energy Grand Prix sees Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) back in pole position for the third time this season. He was over half a second quicker than Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), with Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) left to take third place on the front row in Sunday’s race.
The pole position changed hands several times during the final round, but Marquez dropped his time to 1’32.246 to take his third pole position of the year. The current World Champion clearly sees Lorenzo as a threat though: “Every time that we have gone out on track this weekend we have made big changes, in order to decide which direction to take things with the setup. In qualifying we used the best setup that we had found. We were lucky that the track was in good condition which allowed me to ride normally. I am happy with pole position and tomorrow a tough race awaits us, because Jorge especially has a very good pace. We will try to be as close to him as we can!”
Lorenzo seems to agree, believing he can do better: “The conditions were difficult on the track, you have to be careful with slicks and stay confident. We were lucky on the last lap to have 99% of the track dry and I pushed quite a bit. It was a pity that I didn’t ride any good laps and was slower than I was in FP3. I made a mistake in sector three and lost probably half a second, but I was lucky not to go outside of the track and ride a very good sector four, which put me on the first row. I was hoping to stay at least in third place, because it’s always important to be on the front row. There were a lot of riders who hadn’t finished yet so I stayed in front of the big screen to watch them. I made a very good lap time in Jerez, but this time I couldn’t do it. It was my own fault, but at least we managed to stay in the top three. I prefer a dry race for tomorrow, I think almost everybody does, because it’s more fun and safer.”
Dovizioso was satisfied with a front row start, but also believes he has more pace to extract: “I am not completely satisfied with my qualifying lap, because after the rain I was not able to prepare myself mentally and even physically I was feeling pretty tense. In any case the front row is fine and it is also very important because in MotoGP it’s always essential to start as far up the grid as possible. I could probably have been a bit closer to Marquez and try and go for pole, but in any case I set a good lap time, and this is the result of the good work me and the team have been doing throughout the weekend. For the race I’m starting with a good set-up and I am happy with my pace, but it’s not easy to interpret how our rivals are going and so I don’t know what to expect from them. In any case we are quick, and so tomorrow we’ll see who goes better over 28 laps”.
The second row will be headed by Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda). The Isle of Man based Midlander has remained among the fastest in the weekend’s practice sessions. His position also places him as the best satellite rider, ahead of fellow countryman Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who was sixth after leading FP2 on Friday.
Cal Crutchlow (4th – 1’32.897) – “I seem to keep missing the front row by nothing. In the past I have had quite a good record for front-row starts but this year it isn’t happening so I have told the team that next time I’ll bypass second and third place and go straight to pole position! Joking aside we have worked hard today. This morning we tried something to improve rear grip and while it was better in some aspects it was worse in others. Really we needed FP4 to try some things but it rained so that was disappointing. We need to evaluate some things tonight and hopefully in the warm-up tomorrow morning before we make a final decision on the setting for the race. Marc did a really good job in qualifying and set a fantastic lap but the rest of us behind him are quite close so I am looking forward to tomorrow, I think it will be a good race.”
Bradley Smith – 6th / 1’33.299 / 9 laps – “I’m really happy to be on the second row as I said at the beginning of the event that this was my target in the qualifying. However, on my flying lap, I made a mistake which probably prevented me from doing a high 1’32 lap time, so I could have been even higher, but I’m still delighted with what we achieved today. The team did a great job, especially considering the tricky conditions and we certainly made the right decision with the front tyre choice today and I felt confident. At the moment it’s a bit uncertain for everyone with regards to the race pace, however our race setting is strong so therefore I feel comfortable. This is especially important at this track because of the hard braking points and also the length of the Grand Prix. Everything went to plan today, but tomorrow is the most important day and I aim to start well and then follow the front guys for as long as possible, like I did in Austin, in order to score a great result here in France.”
Between Crutchlow and Smith, Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) managed a creditable fifth. As we have seen in Free Practice, the rider is positively recovering after dislocating his shoulder during testing in Mugello.
Andrea Iannone P5 – “To be honest I am pleased with the result, because it wasn’t taken for granted that I would be so quick in these conditions, seeing as I am not 100% fit. The shoulder I injured in the crash at Mugello is not doing its job very much and I find myself having to use my right arm much more to compensate: I am very tired because of this situation and so I never expected to be so quick today. I set my quickest time on the soft tyre and maybe I could have even gone a bit quicker. We must remain focused for tomorrow, because in my opinion we’ve done a good job so far and my team in any case has managed to improve the Desmosedici GP15’s performance, without me being able to give any big indications because of my physical condition. I also want to thank the guys from the Clinica Mobile who are giving me a big hand in managing the problem with my left shoulder.”
Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) will start seventh in the attempt to defend his lead in the championship standings. His main rivals, Marquez and Lorenzo, will start the race way ahead on the front row, so his chances will lie in choosing the right tyre and an aggressive initial push to avoid losing the front runners.
Valentino Rossi – 7th / 1’33.352 / 9 laps – “I had hoped to stay a bit more at the front, on the second row, but we were unlucky. It was a very important free practice because we had a new tyre and had to try a new setting, because I wasn’t fast enough and it was difficult this morning. Unfortunately it rained and I wasn’t doing so bad, but I couldn’t try my bike on the dry, so I had to start on a different bike during the qualifying and that’s always difficult. At the end I arrived in seventh place and I think with some more kilometers I could have done better. We can improve the pace, because this new setting is better, but for tomorrow it will be hard because the first three guys on the front row have a very good pace. We have to try the maximum to stay with them. This morning we suffered because we were always on a used tyre. We understood that the modifications we had done were not right and for this afternoon we changed a lot. I’m still not fast enough but I think with more laps in, I can go faster and we hope for good weather. I’m ready for tomorrow morning, I’ll try to have a good warm up and be ready for the race.”
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) continues his comeback after undergoing surgery to solve the problems in his right forearm. Tomorrow he starts from a respectable 8th on the grid and he appears happy with his pace: “This first qualifying session back has not gone badly. We could have gone a little faster but in the end I didn’t quite manage it. The positive news is that today I am feeling a little better physically than yesterday and that’s a good thing!”
In the morning’s session Aleix Espargaro suffered a heavy crash while he was testing his extra-soft tyre, resulting in a high-side that required an immediate medical check. Luckily he hadn’t suffered any major injuries, but the crash did give him a lot of pain in his lower back and his right hand. His will to race still saw him take to the track for FP4 and qualifying, finally entering Q2 and gaining 10th place on the grid for tomorrow thanks to his 1’33.665s lap.
Maverick Viñales did a good job during the whole day, getting closer and closer to the top-10. After FP3 he missed direct access to Q2 by only 0.027s. In Q1 he pushed hard to enter the fight for the top 12 positions, but he finally finished Q1 in third place which gave him 13th place on tomorrow’s grid, with the time of 1’34.245.
Davide Brivio – Team Suzuki Manager – “The day has been hard for several reasons, in part for the cold and difficult weather conditions, but mainly because Aleix had a bad crash in the morning. I would say that in the afternoon he has been really incredible to do the job he’s done, because he suffered a lot of pain and it was very hard to get back riding again just a few hours after such a big impact. Not only did he get back in the saddle but he has also done such an amazing job for us by entering the top-10 for tomorrow’s race. I want to thank him and we must recognise he did a very courageous thing. Aleix’s crash is a pity also because he was feeling good, he had a good pace and I hope that tomorrow he will be able to find this feeling again, while dealing with the pain as best he can. Maverick has been very close to Q2: we are always very close, this is a pity from one side because we still miss something I think, but it is also positive from another side because I strongly believe we will soon make a little step forward that will let us be in the better positions. Tomorrow he will start from 13th place therefore the important thing will be to finalise a good set-up for the race that can make him comfortable enough to recover some positions.”
Aleix Espargaro P10 – “I think we’ve been very lucky today. The crash was very hard and I was lucky I didn’t have any major injuries. I still feel painful and I probably have some issues with a ligament in my hand, but I’m eager to race because – strange to say – I feel very good with the bike. Although this is not one of my best tracks I must say that our set-up is very effective, probably one of the best we’ve ever had so far. Of course the crash prevented me to fight for a better position, but in my opinion we can make a good race. In the middle of Q2 I decided to stop because we had to preserve the hard tyres, which are the ones with which I felt better and we will use in the race and also to let the hand recover faster: to gain one or two places in qualifying wasn’t as important as to concentrate on the race ahead of us tomorrow.”
Maverick Viñales P13 – “The weather was strange, with difficult conditions, and for us I’m not totally satisfied. I know we can do much, much better, but we are still a young team – I’m a rookie – and we still have room for improvement in better understanding how to exploit the practice: maybe by making the fast lap attack earlier. But for tomorrow I feel confident because I have a good pace. I like the track and I know I can perform better, especially in fighting for positions during the race.”
Pol Espargaro will begin from 12th place on the grid after a challenging qualifying 2 session at the 4.2 kilometre Le Mans circuit.
Pol Espargaro – 12th / 1’33.724 / 8 laps – “For sure, today was not my best day and I hoped that we could have qualified in a higher position, like we did last year. However, suddenly in the Q2 session we found that we had an issue with the turning of the bike and there wasn’t enough time to fix this so it was impossible to improve the lap time even though the time that I set wasn’t super fast. I can’t hide my disappointment especially after the performance that we showed here last year, so I arrived with high expectations. Yet, the race hasn’t happened already and the points are still there to be taken, so the team and I will work to improve my feeling with my bike for tomorrow where I will fight for a strong result at the Tech3 team’s home race.”
Scott Redding P15 – “We just don’t seem to be going forward. We’re not going round in circles but we’re not making any steps forward either. It seems that we can do one lap time and then we stay at that lap time. I’m disappointed but at the moment there isn’t anything that we can do. I need to try and work the bike out in my head, to try and find something myself that we can do, but at the moment we have to go into the race and just try and improve every lap. Qualifying today started okay, but then I had a highside at turn two when the rear just went came round on me. Maybe it was a bit of a cold tyre but at the moment I’m not sure.”
14th Nicky Hayden 1.34.267: “Even though it rained shortly beforehand, luckily it was dry for qualifying. It was our best qualifying practice of the season so far, which is a boost going into tomorrow’s race. Now we have to turn this positive progress into a result. We made a small change this afternoon which turned out to be very positive and I would have liked to qualify for Q2 but it wasn’t to be, we need to keep working. My mechanics have been doing a great job all season so hopefully I can pay them back. There won’t be much space in the first three turns tomorrow so we’ll have to be careful but my goal is to stay focused and turn my best grid position of the season so far into my best result.”
Stefan Bradl closed qualifying just over three tenths off the Open class pole for the team Athinà Forward Racing on the track of Le Mans.
His teammate Stefan Bradl will start instead from the sixth row, 16th just behind Hayden in the Open category. The German tried several new solutions on electronics and is confident for tomorrow’s race.
Stefan Bradl P16 – “I started FP4 with the idea of trying different solutions but it began to drizzle and the track got damp. However, in Q1, the track was dry again but I could not take full advantage of the soft tyre because I was losing the rear a bit. For the race tomorrow I will go for the hard tyres: I am confident we are not far from the points.”
Loris Baz P22 – “We did a good job in the morning and afternoon practice sessions. I tried several new solutions for the race. In FP4 the track conditions were difficult, we went on the track in the wet and gradually the track dried up. I was in the Top10 most of the time and at the right time I put the slicks on. I went back out and I posted the fastest lap: a great way to honour my home GP. In qualifying unfortunately, I made a small mistake and I could not repeat the exploit. I found a good feeling and tomorrow I believe we can recover many positions and chase points.”
Jack Miller secured the best qualifying position of his short MotoGP career at Le Mans today, sealing eighteenth place on the grid for the French Grand Prix.
The CWM LCR Honda rookie has felt comfortable with the legendary French circuit, where he took victory in the Moto3 race last season, all weekend and he was able to make progress again today despite the fact that the final free practice session was washed out by rain.
Thankfully the track had largely dried up in time for this afternoon’s qualifying practice and after topping the timesheets with his second lap after four minutes of Q1 he went on to post the eighth fastest time of the session, bettering his previous best grid of nineteenth in Texas.
Jack Miller (18th – 1’34.858) – “Qualifying wasn’t a total disaster, we had some tricky conditions that didn’t make life easy but I felt really good in the wet weather so we have a good base if it rains tomorrow. For the qualifying lap we should have gone for a harder option on the front – I just don’t feel as comfortable with the softer option. I’m still not happy with this qualifying position but it is our best so far, which means we are making steps forward. Our pace is pretty good for the race so we’ll see tomorrow what happens!”
After the morning free practice session where the good time Bautista put on the sheets (16th in 1’34.341) was a sign that the work being done in the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini garage was headed in the right direction, a light rain decidedly worsened the condition of the French asphalt. Although the track had dried off when the qualifiers started, the poor grip definitely hindered the performance of the Italian bikes and ended the session – which decided the order on the starting grid for the race tomorrow – with Bautista in 23rd place (1’35.458) and Melandri in 25th (1’37.522), positions which respectively place them on the eighth and ninth row for the start of tomorrow’s GP.
Romano Albesiano – (Aprilia Racing Manager) – “The poor grip conditions, precisely in the qualifiers, certainly didn’t help since our main problem at this time is tyre performance. It’s obvious that significantly poor grip like what we have today penalises us more than the others. It’s a shame because the morning went rather well with Alvaro, who was then unable to repeat the performance in the decisive session. We are well aware of the problem and we absolutely must improve this aspect which is decisive in order to improve the overall performance of the bike.”
Alvaro Bautista P23 – “After the free practice sessions we had to face rather unfavourable conditions in the qualifiers. Poor grip, despite the fact that the asphalt had dried off, put us at a distinct disadvantage, especially in terms of traction. I’m disappointed because in the morning I had put in a good time and I thought I could improve even more. For the race everything is hinging on the weather: if it’s dry let’s hope for some heat as well, which would eliminate some of the disadvantages that hindered us today.”
Marco Melandri P25 – “I’m facing the same problems as I had at the beginning of the season. I need some significant changes that will help me gain more confidence on the bike. This is a fundamental condition for me to think about pushing hard to try and achieve results.”
Tomorrow’s weather forecast suggests slightly warmer conditions, with only a slight chance of rain. The next MotoGP session is the twenty minute Warm Up session at 0940 local time tomorrow (GMT +2) before the twenty-eight lap French Grand Prix gets underway at 1400.
Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department – “The conditions at Le Mans today were extremely challenging for the riders, this morning we had the coolest track temperatures we’ve experienced in MotoGP in a long time, and so I am happy that our tyre allocation enabled the riders to manage the conditions safely. Quite a few riders were able to lap under the race lap record in this morning’s freezing FP3 session which indicates the tyres offered enough warm-up performance and feel in the conditions, which is what you need as a rider at this circuit. Although we had a disruption with the wet conditions in FP4, we’ve had enough dry track time for the riders to decide on which slick tyre combinations will work best for them in the race. The soft compound front and rear slicks are the most popular options due to their optimal combination of cornering and braking performance, and ability to retain temperature, but it is likely that the extra-soft rear slick will be chosen by some open-class riders for the race.”
MotoGP Qualifiying Practice Classification
1 MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1’32.246
2 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 1’32.749
3 LORENZO Jorge 99 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1’32.846
4 CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR CWM LCR Honda Honda 1’32.897
5 IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 1’33.001
6 SMITH Bradley 38 GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1’33.299
7 ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1’33.352
8 PEDROSA Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1’33.419
9 PETRUCCI Danilo 9 ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1’33.556
10 ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1’33.665
11 HERNANDEZ Yonny 68 COL Pramac Racing Ducati 1’33.714
12 ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1’33.724
13 VINALES Maverick 25 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1’34.245
14 HAYDEN Nicky 69 USA Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 1’34.267
15 REDDING Scott 45 GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 1’34.551
16 BRADL Stefan 6 GER Athina Forward Racing Forward Yamaha 1’34.575
17 DI MEGLIO Mike 63 FRA Avintia Racing Ducati 1’34.833
18 MILLER Jack 43 AUS CWM LCR Honda Honda 1’34.858
19 BARBERA Hector 8 SPA Avintia Racing Ducati 1’34.870
20 ABRAHAM Karel 17 CZE AB Motoracing Honda 1’34.940
21 LAVERTY Eugene 50 IRE Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 1’34.947
22 BAZ Loris 76 FRA Athina Forward Racing Forward Yamaha 1’35.456
23 BAUTISTA Alvaro 19 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 1’35.458
24 DE ANGELIS Alex 15 RSM Athina Forward Racing Forward Yamaha 1’35.680
25 MELANDRI Marco 33 ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 1’37.522
Alex Rins dreams of first Moto2 victory
Spanish rider Alex Rins will start from pole position in his fifth intermediate category race after a skintight battle with Alex Lowes’ timesheets.
It doesn’t get any closer than this, as Rins and British Sam Lowes (Speed Up Racing) recorded the same lap time: 1:37.114. In this case, the second (and consecutive) fastest lap of each rider is taken into account as the deciding factor, and Rins won out. The qualifying session of the Moto2™ World Championship at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France has left Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) in a very different position to that he faced after his unfortunate fall on the last lap of the Jerez GP just two weeks ago.
The Spanish rider has extensive experience on the French track, having finished on the podium there in his three appearances at the circuit as Moto3™ rider. Now, his first pole position in Moto2 comes in just his fifth outing in the championship.
The front row will be completed by two other Moto2 protagonists of 2015. Sam Lowes (Speed Up Racing) returns to the spotlight after a poor performance in Jerez, where he failed to score. This afternoon at Le Mans, he qualified second after equaling Rins’ lead time but losing out when it came to their second-best efforts.
Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) leads the championship in Moto2, heading to his home event with a cushion of 16 points. The Frenchman managed to grab a front row qualifying position at the very last moment, fending off defending World Champion Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) who will head up the second row.
Alongside Rabat and Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), the second row will be completed by Tom Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten). The Swiss rider has a good record at Le Mans, where he has won both in the 125 and Moto2 classes.
Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) heads up Row 3 as he celebrates his 100th World Championship Grand Prix start. A podium in Sunday’s race would only add to his century of starts. Just behind, the third row will consist of Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), whose crash in Free Practice 3 limited his performance in qualifying. Beside the Belgian will be Spain’s Julian Simon (QMMF Racing Team), who won at the French venue in the 125 category in 2009.
Perhaps drawing particular attention is the show of Jonas Folger. The Team AGR rider, winner of the first and fourth Grands Prix in Qatar and Spain respectively, put in a masterful performance last time out in Jerez and may require some inspiration to do the same again on Sunday at Le Mans. At the same time, he will also be considering the championship situation.
Moto2 Qualifiying Practice Classification
Fabulous Quartararo: local hero in Moto3
The French rookie rider Fabio Quartaro takes pole for the second consecutive time this season under difficult conditions ahead of his home crowd, while Kent languishes in the rear of the starting grid.
Before qualifying started rain threatened, making it vital to get out on track quickly and take advantage of dry conditions in case the weather worsened. As soon as the session opened, riders took to the track in a hurry and set to work, hunting for an early hot lap. Fabio Quartararo and teammate Jorge Navarro Estrella Galicia 0’0 immediately took the two top positions of the standings, with Quartararo lapping in 1’44.763 and Navarro just 122 thousandths off his pace.
As feared, the rain increased and shortly after both riders crashed out on the same curve, followed by Jorge Martin (Mapfre Aspar Mahindra). The lap times of the two Estrella Galicia 0’0 team mates would not be beaten.
Quartararo said that they plan to use their grouping to their advantage: “Jorge has achieved the second position, so tomorrow we will try to make a group to push hard and take advantage. Achieving pole in front of the French public is very exciting. I feel a lot of support and it’s something very special. I think we have very good pace and I am sure that tomorrow we can do a great race. “
Although Danny Kent (Leopard Racing) once again dominated the first two free practice sessions and clearly has what it takes to be fast at Le Mans, he will start from 30th on the grid after an unfortunate tactical error in QP. Kent said that he left the box late in the session to avoid anybody getting a tow from him and in order to get a clean lap. Unfortunately his box exit coincided with it starting to rain and he was unable to post a competitive time.
Although Danny Kent (Leopard Racing) once again dominated the first two free practice sessions and clearly has what it takes to be fast at Le Mans, he will start from the very bottom of the grid after an unfortunate tactical error in QP. Nonetheless, he remains optimistic about tomorrow: “The result of this qualifying practice is more or less a big disaster. However, the points are there to collect tomorrow so I need to be aggressive as much as possible from the opening laps. We’ve shown a fast pace all weekend long so there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to display a strong comeback and fighting up to the front.” Kent said that he left the box late in the session to avoid anybody getting a tow from him and in order to get a clean lap. Unfortunately his box exit coincided with it starting to rain and he was unable to post a competitive time. Even though he qualified 31st, he is to start from 30th on the grid thanks to Hanika’s penalisation from Race Direction from two weeks ago.
Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) qualified down in 24th, but he will start from last because of the penalty he received in Jerez on the previous round: “Tomorrow morning I start from pit lane and I will try to do my best. The first laps will be tough because I’ll be alone, but I will concentrate on doing my job and catching those in front of me. If we can score points, it will be like a victory for me.”
Rain or not, these atypical circumstances will surely make Sunday’s Moto3 race a great show as Hanika and Kent try to fight their way up through the pack.
Remy Gardner qualified a highly creditable 17th in the 34-rider field.
Remy Gardner (17th – 1’47.171) – “Rain use to make practices like a lottery but our strategy it’s been very good. After getting my best lap time at the second lap and with rain coming we’ve been adapting to wet conditions for be ready for tomorrow if rain comes again. In any case, a good start will help me a lot for reach the top 15 and collect my first points this season”.
Moto3 qualifying session
