Bradley Smith sets early pace at Le Mans MotoGP
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.
Bradley Smith – 1st / 1’33.179 / 40 laps – “Today was a great start to the weekend and I’m delighted to finish in first on the opening day in Le Mans at the Tech3 team’s home Grand Prix, which is also sponsored by Monster Energy. The team and I did a top job in the Jerez test where we made considerable steps forward with the front forks and the electronic settings. Moreover, we made consistent progress from the word go today and I must say that I feel much more comfortable here when compared to last year which was a tough weekend for me. I unfortunately fell in the final moments of the session but I don’t consider it to be my fault. Aleix went down in front of me so I got distracted and ran wide and then went onto the dirt and rode over a rock which caused the crash. This is annoying, but nevertheless it’s certainly super to finish the opening day at the top of the field and I’m fired up for the rest of the weekend.”
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.
Jorge Lorenzo – 2nd / 1’33.369 / 39 laps – “The first day was good because we finished third in the morning and second in the afternoon, these are good positions. I think we don‘t have the best set-up yet for this track, but we‘ve still been competitive. I believe we have some margin for tomorrow, especially to improve the pace. We are still trying different settings to see which one is better. It will be very important to put the bike together correctly and not drop the pace too much during the race.”
Andrea Dovizioso had been first in FP1, perhaps trying to set the stage for Ducati victory at Le Mans – something that has never happened before.
Andrea Dovizioso – 1’33.553 (3rd) – “I am very happy with the feeling I have established with my Desmosedici GP15 here at Le Mans. The test at Mugello proved to be really useful: now I can be quick with ease and this allows us to work well, to do the required testing and to be able to improve on the small details that are so important when it comes to the race. I am satisfied with today’s performance, but for sure we still have to work on improving the stability of the bike”.
Cal Crutchlow made an encouraging start to the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship at Le Mans as he posted the fourth quickest time during Friday’s free practice sessions ahead of the French Grand Prix.
Although the British CWM LCR Honda rider acknowledged the circuit was not a venue he had previously enjoyed too much success at, he improved throughout the day and finished fourth in both the morning and afternoon sessions.
With the track having dried out following a damp morning, Crutchlow went over a half a second quicker in the afternoon and ended up 0.473 seconds behind compatriot Bradley Smith who topped the timesheets.
Cal Crutchlow (4th – 1’33.652) – “Today was not a bad day. I was getting familiarised with the circuit as it’s not one of my better circuits. I quite enjoy the circuit, but I’ve just not particularly ridden too well here. We have to look to improve, we’ll go through the data tonight with the CWM LCR Honda guys and work out a plan to do better in tomorrow’s morning and afternoon sessions. It’s always tricky here with the tyre situation as we use a used rear tyre in the second free practice and I think we’re on a different plan to the other guys. But it worked quite well as we had race distance on the tyres and I’m quite happy.”
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.
Marc Marquez – 5th 1’33.670 [LAP 16/21] – “Today went quite well. I’m happy because we have done a good job in preparation for the race, and we have also done some interesting tests that will allow us to keep working in a good way this weekend. The final position for the day might only be fifth, but the feeling is good and that is important. Tomorrow we will try to improve and continue on the same track with our work, which is the right way for us to go.”
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.
Valentino Rossi – 6th / 1’33.686 / 43 laps – “We worked with the tyres and got some good information. The morning session was more difficult but in the afternoon we improved. At the end, I rode a good lap time and also my pace is quite good. We have to work on section one and three, I‘m not fast enough, but the feeling with the bike is not so bad and it looks like we can improve, if we work in a good way. I tried both tyres and I also liked the harder one. I think it can be a good option for the race, but it will depend on the temperature and conditions.”
Dani Pedrosa – 7th 1’33.725 [LAP 18/18] – “The first day after a long time without riding has been a little difficult, as was finding a good feel for the track and getting used to the speed and the tyres. In addition, this track is not easy to tackle when it’s a little cold. However, gradually we have made progress and by the afternoon things were going better, even if I still lacked a bit of pace. Tonight I will try to relax as much as I can, in order to regain energy for tomorrow.”
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 Espargaro – 8th / 1’33.903 / 38 laps – “Overall today was quite a good start to the weekend. This morning my feelings on the bike were positive straight away and our pace was really promising. When the second session started, I went out on a new rear tyre but I had a few difficulties to face as the behaviour of the bike had changed from this morning. Yet, when we swapped the tyre at the end of the session, the issues that we had, just disappeared. We do not know why this sometimes happens, but it’s not the first time this season that some new rear tyres have not had the same level of performance as the others. Beside that, I unfortunately made a mistake and crashed at the end of the back straight in the closing stages of the session without being able to set a fast lap. Therefore the gap to Bradley, who was 1st in the practice, does not worry me and I’m confident that I will be up there with him tomorrow afternoon.”
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.
Aleix Espargaro: “I’m happy for the first day since this isn’t a track I like so much; last year I struggled as well so I’m happy for the feeling I had today with the bike. I feel confident with my GSX-RR, it has a very good handling and you can push the bike under hard braking, which is good for this track. Unfortunately I couldn’t exploit the soft tyre for getting a better position: This morning it was too cold and we decided to go for it in the afternoon. Meanwhile in second session I had a crash just on the second lap with the soft tyre. On this track it’s hard to warm-up the tyres so the grip was not optimal and finally I had a crash. However, with the hard tyre, I have a good pace so tomorrow I’ll try a better attack in the qualifying.”
Both Suzuki MotoGP riders had a crash in FP2, fortunately without major damage. This prevented them making a proper attack on the timesheets with a fast, single lap.
Davide Brivio – Team Suzuki Manager: “The day got a little complicated because of the two crashes, because then we couldn’t finish the job we were supposed to do. However we got a positive result after a hard day, given the cold conditions of the Tarmac. Aleix couldn’t exploit the soft tyre for the fast-lap attack but he has a good pace and we are probably close to a good base for the set-up for the race. Maverick was trying something different as well therefore the crash interrupted him. The positive thing is that we have collected important information during the day and now we will fix the bikes and also try to introduce some improvements for tomorrow. Our objective is of course entering Q2 with both riders.”
Maverick Viñales P12 “It was a positive first day, the only mistake was the crash. In these conditions you try to push harder and harder and sometimes it happens that you lose the front. Unfortunately this probably stopped us a little bit on the last few minutes for going for the quick lap for the 10th position. I feel very confident in sectors one and two, while I need to find better lines in the second half of the track; also the feeling on the brakes is something we can improve. Despite this I think we can be pretty happy, we have a good bike here – also with the medium tyre – so I feel good. Tomorrow we have to finalise the set-up and to work better with the front tyre.”
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.
Andrea Iannone – 1’34.092 (11th) – “I am in a bit of a difficult situation, because my shoulder is still hurting. This morning I started without taking any type of painkiller, but in the afternoon the doctors of the Clinica Mobile gave me an injection. Unfortunately the situation did not improve: the pain remained virtually the same and my shoulder is still creating me problems, especially in the chicanes and in the changes of direction. For tomorrow we will try and find a solution that allows me to ride better, but I fear I will have to grit my teeth because it’s not going to be an easy weekend”.
Jack Miller made a strong start to the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship at Le Mans today, lapping as the fastest ‘Open’ category rider on the opening day of free practice for the French Grand Prix.
The CWM LCR Honda rookie instantly felt at ease with the legendary French circuit, where he took victory in the Moto3 race last season, and he made progress throughout the day’s two sessions.
After lapping 22nd fastest on a track that still had some damp patches this morning, Miller made use of the improved conditions in the afternoon to find just over 1.6 seconds and catapult himself up the order to 13th on the combined timesheets overnight.
Jack Miller (13th – 1’34.253) – “Yeah I’m happy with today. We’ve made some improvements and I’m getting more and more comfortable with the bike. I also feel more comfortable with the track, definitely more so than Jerez, so it has been a good start to the weekend. We need to keep improving but so far I am really happy!”
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Scott Redding finished the opening day at Le Mans 14th fastest with the Englishman struggling for front grip at the French Grand Prix.
In the closing minutes of the afternoon session Redding used a new tyre but it offered little improvement at that time, with track conditions becoming difficult once again with numerous riders crashing in the closing stages.
Scott Redding: 14th – 1’34.371 – “I was just struggling with front grip. This morning it was okay but the conditions were mixed. In the afternoon we had a similar problem to the morning, even when we put in the new tyre we didn’t improve too much compared to the used tyre, which is unusual, but it’s something that has happened a few times this year to us. We need to have a look at how we can get a little bit more front grip and feeling for tomorrow.”
Athinà Forward Racing’s Stefan Bradl and Loris Baz end the first day of practice in 15th and 19th place respectively.
It was a good start for the German rider, who finished as the second open behind Miller, despite some minor problems with the electronics. He posted a personal best of 1’34.543 right on the limit of the point-zone and just three-tenths off the Australian’s time.
This race has a special feel for Loris Baz, who is racing his first home race in the premier class of motorcycle racing at Le Mans. The Frenchman lapped with both his bikes to fine tune the set-ups with the aim of improving the pace for the race. Baz went close to going under the 1.35 mark and finished in 19th place in the combined standings with a time of 1’35.002.
Stefan Bradl – 15th / 1’34.543 / 34 laps – “It was a day of work. We closed as the second open and I’m happy. I had some problems with the electronics: the bike was very aggressive and I struggled but I think we can improve tomorrow for qualifying. The pace is good we just have to soften the bike a bit to be very competitive.”
Loris Baz – 19th / 1’35.002 / 39 laps – “It was a pretty positive day. I’ve returned to Le Mans after so many years and it was a special emotion. This morning we started right away with both bikes to fine-tune the set-up after the test in Jerez. The feeling was good but I have to improve our race pace. Tomorrow I am convinced we can make a good step forward for qualifying.”
Nicky Hayden continues to fly the flag for the USA in Aspar Team colours and he worked hard on the opening day in France to find grip and improved braking on both of his Honda machines. Hayden made constant improvements to set his best lap of the day just three from the end, finishing in seventeenth position. On the other side of the garage Eugene Laverty struggled to get to grips with a circuit he feels like he is visiting for the first time. The Irishman has not been here since 2008 and after suffering front-end issues today he finished the day in 23rd place.
17th Nicky Hayden 1.34.663 (38 laps): “Some sections of the track were dirty this morning but we still managed to gather a lot of information over the course of the day. The team has done a great job once again and this has allowed us to move forward in a couple of areas. We worked with both bikes today to find some more grip and confidence under braking. This is a demanding circuit, you really need a well-balanced bike that allows you to brake hard. We could have started better but at least the feeling here on this first day is better than it was at Jerez. We will continue to work along the same lines tomorrow to see if we can make some improvements to the chassis and electronics.”
23rd Eugene Laverty 1.35.182 (42 laps): “It is a long time since I rode here so it was like the first time again today. It was a strange day for us, even though we had plenty of track time. We had some problems with the front end and I don’t remember finishing a session so far back. Our set-up has worked well at other tracks but this one is quite unique, there isn’t a lot of grip and we lost some confidence in the front. We pushed hard but the lap times didn’t come and I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. We will have to adapt the bike better tomorrow because it is not turning in some sections of the track.”
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini technicians and riders were looking for new setups on the RS-GP bikes ridden by Melandri and Bautista. So Friday work was done in various directions and tomorrow will be the same for the two sessions prior to the qualifiers. The team is looking for different solutions so they can get back the good feelings they had at the end of the Jerez round and to be able to count on a setting for the RS-GP bikes tomorrow that will let Bautista and Melandri push hard to put the best possible times on the sheets.
Today at the end of the two practice sessions Alvaro finished with the 22nd time in 1’35.137, while Marco put the 25th time on the sheets in 1’36.056.
Romano Albesiano – (Aprilia Racing Manager) – “After Jerez we thought we had a fairly strong performance in hand, but here we found decidedly different conditions which have now forced us to try and make up ground in terms of grip. We need to do a lot of work on the setups, changing the chassis parameters in order to look after the tyres better on a track that is characterised by hard deceleration and restarts”.
Alvaro Bautista – “We started from a very similar to the one we used at Jerez, but evidently the low temperatures complicated things. In the morning we were already having problems with grip, so in the afternoon we tried a different setup solution but without any positive results. In short, it was not our best day, but sometimes that’s the way it goes: we’ll keep working to find a solution to the problems that this track poses for us”.
Marco Melandri – “At Le Mans I am still having the same problems that I’ve had since the beginning of the season. Today the bike was moving around a lot and it was hard to get my lap times down, but tomorrow we’ll keep working hard while waiting for some radical changes that will meet my needs to be able to really push”.
- SMITH Bradley 38 GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’33.179
- LORENZO Jorge 99 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’33.369
- DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team 1’33.553
- CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR CWM LCR Honda 1’33.652
- MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team 1’33.670
- ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’33.686
- PEDROSA Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team 1’33.725
- ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’33.903
- ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar 1’33.944
- HERNANDEZ Yonny 68 COL Pramac Racing 1’33.953
- IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA Ducati Team 1’34.092
- VINALES Maverick 25 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar 1’34.110
- MILLER Jack 43 AUS CWM LCR Honda 1’34.253
- REDDING Scott 45 GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 1’34.371
- BRADL Stefan 6 GER Athina Forward Racing 1’34.543
- PETRUCCI Danilo 9 ITA Pramac Racing 1’34.568
- HAYDEN Nicky 69 USA Aspar MotoGP Team 1’34.663
- BARBERA Hector 8 SPA Avintia Racing 1’34.745
- BAZ Loris 76 FRA Athina Forward Racing 1’35.002
- DI MEGLIO Mike 63 FRA Avintia Racing 1’35.067
- ABRAHAM Karel 17 CZE AB Motoracing 1’35.090
- BAUTISTA Alvaro 19 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’35.137
- LAVERTY Eugene 50 IRE Aspar MotoGP Team 1’35.182
- DE ANGELIS Alex 15 RSM Athina Forward Racing 1’35.802
- MELANDRI Marco 33 ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1’36.056
Rabat calls the shots in 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 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.
Remy Gardner was 23rd quickest in the 34-rider field.
Remy Gardner P23 (1’44:360): “Despite some problems with a crash during the morning I must say that result and the work done by us today is good and place myself in a good position regarding tomorrow’s qualifying. I think we’re at a higher level than in the previous races from the point of view of the first contact with the track”.
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.
