We are ready, for Moto2 at Le Mans, in France. Record crowds are here. Le Mans, will host MotoGP and it's sister classes, over the next few years. In qualifying, Tom Luthi, who has won at Le Mans four times, (two 125cc and two Moto2), gets pole, ahead of Alex Rins. Simone Corsi is third. Alex Rins had some tire pressure issues. Lorenzo Baldassari has had to move back on the grid. Alex Rins could capitalize as Johann Zarco, Jonas Folger, and Sam Lowes, have not had the luck they've wanted, here in France. Simone Corsi has his first front row start since Silverstone in 2014. Johann Zarco is looking to become the first rider, to win an intermediate class motorcycle race, on home soil, here in France, since 1982, when Jean-Louis Tournadre did it. Tournadre won when the French GP was held at Nogaro, in the 250cc class.
Zarco is fourth on the grid. Will cool conditions help the performance of the riders? Lorenzo Baldassari had his qualifying time disallowed and cancelled after a technical infraction. The rear tire was not up to spec pressure. Jonas Folger has qualified eighth. Folger, will move into MotoGP with Tech3, next year. Sam Lowes has qualified well. But, this weekend, he is dealing with a cold. More statistics. After his win at Jerez in Spain, Sam Lowes became the first British rider to win two straight races, at the same track in successive years, since Chas Mortimer did in 1975. Mortimer had a 15 year career, spanning from 1969 to 1984.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chas_Mortimer
We are five minutes away from the start of this 26 lap race. Pole position is a place at Le Mans, where you want to get a good start. Axel Pons starts 11th and his team mate Marcel Schrotter, is 12th. Dominique Aegerter qualifies 13th. He finished fourth at Le Mans in 2013, and has one win at the Sachsenring. Up next is Miguel Oliveira. We look again, at the front row. Simone Corsi, third. Alex Rins, second. Tom Luthi, is the pole man, and he wants his second win of 2016 in Moto2, here at Le Mans. We are ready for Moto2 at Le Mans. Xavier Simeon, the Belgian, he makes his 100th Grand Prix start, in this race, today.
Danny Eslick, the American rider, who has been so successful on our shores, will start caboose on the field, riding in place of Efren Vazquez, who is injured. Sandro Cortese, is at home, watching this race, recovering from a knee ligament injury. Hopefully he'll be back in Italy at Mugello, next time out. Edgar Pons is also not racing. Amazingly, in Moto2, only 25 points cover the top five riders in the championship. Track and air temperatures, look like this, for the Moto2 race. 21 degrees Celsius air temperature (69 degrees Fahrenheit), and 27 degrees Celsius, track temperature (80 degrees Fahrenheit). Racing in Moto2 won't come down to tires, because each rider is on the softer front and the option rear tire.
Johann Zarco may have a future, with Suzuki. He will race with them in the Suzuka 8 Hours motorcycle endurance race in Japan later this summer, and be offered a test ride with them. Don't be surprised, if by next year, we may see Johann Zarco, in MotoGP, on a Suzuki. Alex Rins is also looking to get a ride in MotoGP. Will the championship picture come into play? How will this race, affect it? We are ready, for Moto2, at Le Mans! 26 laps of the Bugatti circuit for Moto2, are, go! Tom Luthi flies off the starting line, from pole! Alex Rins, meanwhile, bogs down a bit. Franco Morbidelli is now up to second, and we also see a solid start from Takaaki Nakagami.
Luthi leads with Franco Morbidelli second, and Takaaki Nakagami, third. Sam Lowes, started ninth, but has been sinking like a stone. They run through the Dunlop chicane for the first time. Alex Rins pushes his way around Takaaki Nakagami. Jonas Folger runs wide. He runs ahead of countryman Marcel Schrotter. Zarco runs wide, and Sam Lowes is right on top of him now. They fly through Chemain aux Boeufs, and Lorenzo Baldassari is another rider who is really pouring on the steam early on in this race. Baldassari moves past Dominique Aegerter. Unless someone runs him down, Tom Luthi will say "au revoir" to the rest of the field, and be out for a Sunday cruise.
Sam Lowes has passed Johann Zarco. Oh dear! Jonas Folger, is down! He's wrecked, sliding along the pavement as the motorcycle heads for the gravel trap. Game over for Folger. But, it is wonderful news that he moves to MotoGP next year. Simone Corsi, passes Franco Morbidelli. The front end washed away from Jonas Folger, causing him to crash his motorcycle. Folger, like he did when he fell in Qatar at the start of the season, must not have a good feeling on the bike, when it has a full fuel load aboard. Of course, in motorcycle racing, pitting for fuel, is irrelevant, unless you are an endurance racer.
Fast lap of the race so far, is set by Alex Rins at a 1:37.637. Rins is second, behind Luthi. Johann Zarco is languishing in 11th place. He'll have to charge quickly if he wants to earn a podium here in France, in his home race. Sam Lowes runs just behind Marcel Schrotter at this point. Luthi leads rins followed by Corsi, Morbidelli, and Baldassari in the top five. Takaaki Nakagami of Japan runs sixth. Luca Marini is the last rider in the top ten at this point, and is having a career best outing in this race. Marcel Schrotter shoots inside Sam Lowes to take a spot away. New fast lap. Tom Luthi lays down a 1:37.442. Luthi is the man to beat, but Alex Rins definitely wants 20 points, which he will earn, if he finishes second.
Rins is closing up, and he brings fastest lap down further, to 1:37.297. He is working on getting by Luthi for the lead, and then leaving the rest of the field in the dust. Rins passes for the lead in Museum corner on lap five. The lead is short lived, as Rins runs wide, and allows Luthi to take it back. Guess what? Simone Corsi, also wants a piece of this. Corsi is bringing Franco Morbidelli along for the ride. Lorenzo Baldassari tries to get by Franco Morbidelli, but can't make it stick. Rins tries to put a move on Luthi in La Chapelle. But, he's waiting, actually, to set Luthi up for a pass. Rins tries making it by Luthi. Luthi says, "no way, Alex", and it turns into a see saw battle.
Simone Corsi, is watching all this, and he has great incentive, to start pushing, trying to find a way past Alex Rins. Lorenzo Baldassari and Franco Morbidelli have a scrum of their own, and Morbidelli squeezes Baldassari, into the turn! Clearly Baldassari and Morbidelli touched in turn 12. Rins and Corsi take advantage of this little tussle. Corsi does not need an open door to crash a party. He'll slam it down and join the fun, anyway. Takaaki Nakagami holds on in sixth spot. Johann Zarco has done nothing but go backwards. He qualified fourth, but is now languishing in 11th.
Zarco is stuck, at his home race, and cannot get by Luca Marini, Dominique Aegerter, or, Marcel Schrotter. Zarco is most definitely looking for a MotoGP ride in the not too distant future, and this won't help that cause. Alex Rins does not have a MotoGP ride yet, either. However, with his performances as of late, he should get one. Rins leads Luthi by 4/10ths of a second, but Luthi, meanwhile, has Simone Corsi all over him, like a rash. Corsi nabs the spot from Luthi who tries fighting back on the inside. Corsi runs in the 1:38 bracket, while everyone else is running mid-1:37 lap times. It's close racing here in Moto2.
Lorenzo Baldassari now makes a move on Tom Luthi. Julian Simon has crashed his motorcycle, and it's game over in France for the 2009 125cc world champ. Simon spilled the bike, at La Chapelle. Alex Rins has 6/10ths over Corsi. Luthi is running a second slower than Rins. He's got grip issues at the moment. Sam Lowes is seventh, 2/10ths down on Takaaki Nakagami. Nakagami finds grip in the latter part of these Moto2 races. He could put the cat among the pigeons. Johann Zarco has made up one spot and inside the top ten. Zarco and Miguel Oliveira have made clean passes. Hafizh Syahrin and Xavier Simeon have also made passes.
Zarco moves ahead of Dominique Aegerter as Rins leads by half a second. Oliveira makes a clean pass on Aegerter. Zarco moves past Oliveira. He is now eighth. Jonas Folger has crashed, on a full fuel tank, a few different times this year already. That's not good. He may also be having issues with the shock package on his motorcycle. The team tried new shocks in the morning warm up here at Le Mans. Folger has had trouble getting a feel for the front end of the motorcycle. Bradley Smith had five crashes at the Sachsenring in 2014. Simone Corsi needs to get on terms with Alex Rins. How will Rins fight him? Corsi is not a championship threat.
Zarco has taken a second out of Marcel Schrotter, and Schrotter loses a plac to Miguel Oliveira. Alex Marquez runs way down in 15th. He is in a fight with Axel Pons for position. Pons wants the last point, and Marquez, has the place right now. Hafizh Syahrin goes inside Miguel Oliveira. Rins and Corsi have gapped Baldassari and Luthi. If Luthi wants a second consecutive Le Mans win in Moto2, he'll have to pass Lorenzo Baldassari ASAP. Franco Morbidelli cannot keep up with the leaders. Simone Corsi is running very well in second spot. Baldassari looks for another podium. Simone Corsi is doing a very good job riding today.
Moto2 debuted as a division in 2010. Simone Corsi, has never won a Moto2 race, in six years. The last time he won was in 125cc competition, in 2008. Corsi has made a fabulous transition from the Kalex chassis to the Speed Up chassis. Corsi is pushing Alex Rins. Luthi is getting desperate to get around Baldassari. Jeepers! A crash for Alex Marquez. He's out of this thing. Smash! The bike slides away, and he has now wrecked in four of the last five races! Marquez, ironically crashed this time, in the same place, where he spilled the bike in the Moto2 morning warmup. Luthi tries Baldassari, but no. Corsi runs fastest lap in the lead group at 1:37.605. He is followed by Rins at 1:37.647, Luthi at 1:37.668, and Baldassari at 1:37.672. Of only eleven career wins, Tom Luthi has won at Le Mans, four times.
Rins continues to lead, and Corsi still isn't close enough to the Spaniard. Luthi tries Corsi on the inside, and can't do it. Rins is managing this race, just as he did at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, last month. Luthi still fends off Baldassari. Luthi has to guard the place, with everything he's got. Ten laps to go. Does Luthi have anything left in the locker? Could Tom Luthi's shift light on the motorcycle be malfunctioning? He could be missing his shift points. Rins leads Corsi by 3/10ths of a second. Poor old Johann Zarco! The world champ, crashes out of his home race! Zarco restarts his Ajo Motorsports Kalex, but will be out of contention, here in France, much to the dismay of his fans.
Zarco lost the front end of the bike, clipping the curb, and down he went. Rins continues to stretch his lead, and Luthi is losing time. Eight laps to go. Rins leads Sam Lowes in the points headed to the next race. Details, shortly, after this one ends. Alex Rins is riding an immaculate race. Tom Luthi is losing a shade more time. Takaaki Nakagami may be closing in on Franco Morbidelli. Sam Lowes is running seventh right now, trying to pick up points. Simone Corsi looks like he'll have a go at Alex Rins anytime now. Simone Corsi is now closing on Alex Rins. Luthi will not win a third Moto2 race at Le Mans. He is two seconds behind this scrap for the lead between Rins and Corsi. Alex Rins, has quite the drive out of Garage Vert onto the back straightaway.
Oh dear! Lorenzo Baldassari, has wrecked his bike! He was fourth, and crashes, in turn three! Franco Morbidelli has moved to fifth, and Sam Lowes is sixth, after Baldassari fell. Rins is now just doing enough to keep Simone Corsi at bay. Sam Lowes hopes Takaaki Nakagami can get up there to battle Franco Morbidelli. Sam Lowes has found his pace, but would he be able to take advantage if Nakagami and Morbidelli got into a dust up? Only three laps to go. Alex Rins has control of this race, but Simone Corsi has been amazing, challenging at the front in Moto2. Rins is able to preserve his tires, and it looks like he'll win his second race of the season. The dog may have let go of the bone, for Corsi. However, Luthi might still nab him. If Johann Zarco will retain the Moto2 championship, he'll have to do it the hard way.
Zarco won the 2015 championship. But, he's not been in contention for most of the season so far. It is the final lap, and Rins is half a second quicker than Corsi. Franco Morbidelli will hold fourth over Takaaki Nakagami. Alex Rins will have his 12th win. He's been on the podium in Moto3, and never a win. He's had a podium in Moto2 at Le Mans. But now, he's wiped the floor with his championship rivals. Simone Corsi will get his best finish in some time. Alex Rins will take his second win of 2016! He takes the championship lead!
#40 Alex Rins ESP. Kalex
The next race for Moto2, has happened. But, stay tuned, for highlights from the Mugello circuit in Italy, coming soon.
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