THE WEATHER PLAYED THE MAIN ROLE ON THE FIRST DAY IN LE MANS

ALEIX CRASHES TWICE WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES, LORENZO DOES WELL IN THE WET

The weather playing the main role is nothing new when it comes to the French GP in Le Mans. In fact, the Bugatti Circuit is famous for its varying weather conditions, capable of sudden turnarounds even during the same session. Today, on the first day of MotoGP practice, the FP1 session was held on a wet track, although a few breaks in the rain began drying off the asphalt toward the end. In the afternoon, on the other hand, the riders were able to use slicks, in spite of temperatures which were anything but summery and some rather intense wind.

These conditions took a significant toll in terms of crashes, including two involving Aleix Espargaró (on turn 3, but inconsequential). The Aprilia rider, finishing tenth in the morning, struggled in the afternoon and, after getting back on the track, had to settle for fourteenth.

Lorenzo Savadori showed good signs in the wet, improving and even finishing sixth this morning. His lack of experience kept him from confirming the good result in FP2, where he finished twentieth.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"A complicated day. I felt good straight away, fast in the wet too, and I was confident at the start of FP2. However, the asphalt conditions were less than ideal. They demanded a bit of caution and I crashed. I went back out on the second bike, which I don’t prefer, but still finding the feeling to be able to push. Unfortunately, the front tyre wasn’t up to temperature and on turn 3 I crashed again. I got the bike back to the garage as quickly as I could and the guys did an incredible job getting me back out onto the track where I only missed the top 10 by about two tenths of a second. Considering what happened, it still shows that we are competitive on this track as well and in these conditions. It will definitely not be a relaxing Saturday for me!"
LORENZO SAVADORI
"An overall positive day, although peculiar. This morning, in the wet, I was able to be fast. In those conditions, the small details count a bit less, so even with less experience, you can narrow the gap. FP2 was a sort of qualifying session. With the track dry, a lot of riders pushed hard on the soft tyre, given how extremely variable the weather is. I used the first part of the session to increase my confidence on a track where I haven’t ridden for about 10 years. Then, in the finale with the new tyre, I made a mistake that unfortunately cost me more than half a second. We’ll keep working. There are stages where I’d like to improve the setup, especially in terms of cornering."