Moto 3: France

Le Mans and the Bugatti circuit is the setting for this round of Moto 3.  On the pole will be Maverick Vinales, who has scored his first pole of the season.  This race will be 24 laps.  When it's damp, the biks have to use a rear taillight.  The bikes are on their warmup lap, getting ready for the race.  Hopes are that rain will not be a factor in this one.  

Round four is ready to go.  Maverick Vinales is the championship leader.  Niccolo Antonelli couldn't get into his space.  At the start, Maverick Vinales takes the lead, but Jonas Folger is moving up quickly.  Alex Rins will pass Louis Salom into La Chapelle.  Jack Miller drops some spots.  Jonas Folger knows how to run in these damp conditions.  He had a podium at Le Mans in 2009 in the old 125cc class.  Jack Miller is trying to stay with Alex Marquez.  The dry line is tight.  Be careful into the Blue Esses.  Can Jonas Folger get around to make a pass?  One of the French wildcard riders gets a black flag.  Not sure who it is.

Into Garage Vert, it's still damp as the bikes fly onto the back straight.  Jakub Kornfeil is fastest of all, passing Jack Miller down the front straight as someone gets a ride through penalty.  Folger leads, going past Maverick Vinales.  Luis Salom is also in the lead battle in a way, as there is a definite pack forming here.  Miguel Oliviera passes Alex Marquez.  No real separation between bikes is occurring.  Jack Miller has dropped behind Niklas Ajo.  He's hung out to dry.  Watch out for the Astro turf on the side of the track. 

 Miguel Oliviera is the only non KTM rider in the top ten.  But, he falls down iin turn one.  Was that a collision with another bike?  Apparently, he might have hit Alex Marquez.  Maybe not.  Both the Mahindra bikes are out, as Jonas Folger is leading.  Maverick Vinales is right behind.  Folger is starting to set quick laps.  If the track stays dry, it will only get quicker.  Folger holds on as Vinales is trying his best.  Johann Zarco made a similar move on Gino Rea in the Moto 2 race at Le Mans, last year.

This race will be a fair fight.  Vinales won his first race here at Le Mans in 2011.  Folger is on the medium compound option tire.  Most are on the medium, with two riders on soft tires.  The soft tire might be durable enough to last to the end of the race.  Jakub Kornfeil runs sixth right now with Niklas Ajo and others moving up.  Brad Binder drops some spots.  Romano Fenati and John McPhee are moving up.  Fenati and McPhee battle into Garage Vert.  Alex Rins is fastest of all.  But, Luis Salom is losing time.

Florian Alt crashes his bike, running over the fairing!  Ouch!  Alex Marquez is fifth, 2.8 seconds behind the top four riders as seven of 24 laps are complete.  Five laps to halfway.  The battles are beginning to simmer as Jack Miller passes Niklas Ajo.  Alexis Masbou passes Brad Binder.  Maverick Vinales still leads through Museum corner.  Jonas Folger wants to win this.  He'll have to take a chance at it.  Alex Rins scored a podium at Le Mans last year in his first season of Moto 3.  One lap to halfway.  Alex Marquez holds off Jakub Kornfeil.  Ajo passes Miller.

Zulfahmi Khairuddin is coming up through the fieeld, too.  Jonas Folger loses ground, running wide onto the escape road.  There was oil or something down in one of the corners.  There was a collision between Folger and Francesco Bagnaia.  It was World Superbike-esque.  A tankslapper.  Back through the Blue Esses, Khairuddin is booking it.  Niklas Ajo also makes some decent passes as Romano Fenati is pushing Jack Miller.  Someone has crashed.  Or maybe, they got loose.  Ah.  It's Niccolo Antonelli, crashing out of another Moto 3 race.

Rins shadows Vinales as Luis Salom runs his best lap of the race.  Romano Fenatti has lost ground, running really wide onto the paint on the outside of the track.  Rins still shadows Vinales.  Jules Danilou (a French wildcard rider), runs off the road.  Rins runs fast lap at 1:44.3.  Ten laps now remaIN.  Jakub Kornfeil tries reeling in Alex Marquez.  But, he's still got work to do.  Brad Binder is trying to pass Alexis Masbou, but he'll have a tall order ahead of him.  

Zulfahmi Khairuddin is going for it.  Jonas Folger turns his fastest lap.  He's the only rider in the top four who has not won a race yet this year, with eight laps remaining.  John McPhee is caught behind Maverick Vinales as Alexis Masbou nearly loses his bike.  He and McPhee battle.  Jakub Kornfeil can't reel in Alex Marquez.  Arthur Sissis is being reeled in by Jack Miller.  This is for 14th and 15th.  The two Australians are not having good races today.  Luis Salom runs his personal best lap of the race as Danilo falls.  Five laps remain in the race.

Through Museum, going into Garage Vert, the battle continues.  But, Jonas Folger is still having to play catchup.  Into La Chapelle, it's still Vinales, Rins, and Salom.  Vinales' team manager Pablo Nieto wants good laps from Vinales in the last laps of this race.  Alexi Masbou is now ninth.  Rins runs fast lap at a 1:44 flat.  Khairuddin and Ajo have both crashed.  This was a monster high side by Khairuddin, and he's caught by Niklas Ajo's bike.  That was a bad, bad wreck.  Fortunately, both riders are OK.

Romano Fenati is going to finish seventh.  For Niklas AJo, it's game over.  Khairuddin is also fine.  This crash took place in the backstretch esses.  Meanwhile, Vinales, Rins, and Salom remain in the top three places.  Rins is being pressured just a little bit.  Salom wants by him.  Vinales still leads this race.  Another rider falls down.  Vinales runs a 1:44.118.  Jonas Folger can do no better than fourth, with Alex Marquez behind.  Vinales has run a perfect race today.  Hyugi Watanabe crashes.  It's the last lap.  Rins and Salom are not going to make inroads on Vinales.  He runs a 1:43.961, a lap that would have qualified him third for this race!

Luis Salom wants one more shot at Alex Rins.  But, on the last lap, it's all Vinales as Brad Binder passes Alexis Masbou for eighth spot.  Will Salom pass Alex Rins?  This is the race.  Vinales will win.  Vinales is going to win.  But, who is going to be second?  Rins gets second place.

#25 Maverick Vinales    ESP     KTM Figueres

The next Moto 3 race will be in Italy at the Mugello circuit, coming up in a shade over a week.