Daniel Holgado took victory in the Moto3 French Grand Prix with a well-executed ride and handed Tech3 Racing their first ever victory on home soil.
With that, the Spaniard increased his lead in the championship to 21 points and added a second victory to his tally for 2023.
Ayumu Sasaki put in a very strong qualifying performance to start from pole position, with Diogo Moreira and Holgado completing the front row.
But Sasaki couldn’t hold onto his lead at the start, quickly losing out to Holgado who made a nice move down the inside at the first braking zone of the Le Mans track.
The Japanese rider tried to conjure up a reaction as the first lap went on but couldn’t make anything stick for the time being.
Credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull
Meanwhile behind the top two it was Deniz Oncu who settled into third as he got the better of Moreira on the opening lap.
Moreira then lost another position on lap seven as Ivan Ortola moved his way into fourth with a nice move at Turn 3.
The battle at the front then stabilised for the following few laps as the riders settled into the race.
But it all began to unfold at the halfway point however, as Moreira crashed out at Turn 12 – the Brazilian had continued to drop back as the race progressed and was in seventh at the time of the incident.
Sasaki then pulled the pin and made his move back into the lead with a pass on Holgado along the pit straight, but Holgado quickly responded at Turn 3 to hang on to first place.
Elsewhere Jaume Masia moved up into third with six laps to go after taking advantage of Oncu running slightly wide at Turn 8.
The Spaniard then attacked Sasaki for second place and the pair were engaged in a back-and-forth battle – which allowed Holgado to sit comfortably out in front as those behind him jostled for position.
Sasaki was able to retake second at Turn 3 with three laps remaining, and quickly tried to shake off Masia in an attempt to chase down the leader ahead.
But ultimately it was to no avail – despite closing the gap to just 0.150 seconds Sasaki had to settle for second as Holgado took victory after a very strong race to hold off the pressure.
Speaking after the race, Holgado said it was a good ending to an event where he’d showed strong pace throughout the three days.
“The feeling is amazing. I am so happy because this Grand Prix was very important for my team as it was their home race, and winning it for them is just incredible,” he said.
“I was fast all weekend, and today we were just really strong and confident. What a weekend, thank you to my team.”
Masia ended the race in third but had to fight for it as Ortola piled on the pressure in the final two laps.
Oncu went from being third to ending up sixth in the final few laps of the race, finishing behind Ryusei Yamanaka.
Credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull
Xavier Artigas finished in seventh, with David Alonso and Jose Rueda some distance behind in eighth and ninth.
Stefano Nepa managed to get the better of Joel Kelso, Kaito Toba and Tatsuki Suzuki in what was a close fought battle for 10th.
David Salvador and Collin Veijer rounded out the points finishers.
Among the other fallers, Syarifuddin Azman was the first victim to crash in the race on the third lap at Turn 12 – a disappointing end to what was a strong weekend for the Malaysian where he qualified 10th.
Andrea Migno also fell at Turn 12 a few laps later and was shortly followed by Scott Ogden at Turn 7, as well as Taiyo Furusato who fell on the last lap at Turn 9.
Motorsport at present will not be interrupted by any third party events, so according to current calendars we have racing from the weekend we go into 2023 with the Dakar Rally, through to December with national events and eSports. Here are just a small selection of dates to keep free as a motorsport enthusiast!
Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E
14th January
Formula E starts its third generation at the beloved Autodromo Hermamos Rodriguez in Mexico City, where we shall see the new era of cars reach 200mph hour and a new format of racing begin. McLaren and Maserati enter the fray with a mix up of drivers, so keep the date free! Formula E expects more overtaking in much smaller and lighter machinery, and don’t forget that all the qualifying and racing in one day so an action-packed day looms!
19th February
On this day, you shall see the 65th running of the “Great-American Race” at Daytona Beach in Florida. Daytona is one of three Superspeedways in the States, the others being Indianapolis and Talladega. Fan-favourite Jimmie Johnson is expected to return for the Stock Car Series, which would have seven former winners in the field. Even if NASCAR is not your taste, I do advise it as a watch as they do race on tracks of COTA and Road America throughout the year. There is also the conclusion of the Asian Le Mans series at Yas Marina on the same day, which is a four-hour event.
YAS MARINA CIRCUIT, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Photo by Mark Sutton / LAT Images)
26th-28th May
This weekend is a belter. In Europe and stateside we have two of the three legs of the ‘Triple Crown’ running simultaneously. On Saturday is the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, where on most occasions qualifying could be more important than the Sunday. On Sunday we have the 107th running of the Indy 500 at the Brickyard. Monaco could be more of a tactical battle strategy, followed by seeing the complete flipside of motorsport with cars going at 220mph for nearly three hours! Do not forget to finish off the day one of the speedways. NASCAR has the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, so if no problems do arise with cautions and delays you could watch all three consecutively, a true treat to a motorsport fan!
10/11 June
The final third of the ‘Triple Crown’ would be the famous Le Mans 24 hours which celebrates its centenary this year. The categories for this season have either been revamped or doubled, especially the hypercar which should make it the most contested battle, with Ferrari and Peugeot joining Toyota in the battle at the top for overall victory.
Ferrari seek for victory for the first time since 1965 when legendary Jochen Rindt won as part of the team and Peugeot more recently with the 908 in 2009. The middle classes of LMP2 and GTE will continue to be as close as ever throughout the race and season, a race that is 6/7 times longer than Indy 500 can be separated by seconds overall. The go-to section if you want to go would be the Porsche Curves, a fantastic section to see a car hooked up in qualifying or race mode!
MotoGP heads to India. The Buddh International Circuit was first used in 2011 by F1, the banked 10-12 turns having an Istanbul Park feel. India is second most populated country with nearly 1.4 billion people and with reports of over 200 million owning a motorcycle which is a 75/25 ratio making it perfect sense for bikes to race here.
It will be great to see the track return to the world stage as the Grand Prix of Bharat and with bikes it has the chance to provide some fantastic overtaking opportunities. National racing has taken place there from 2016, but do expect the likes of WSBK to strike a deal in the future as this will be an instant success! Along with this, F1 hosts the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, the European Le Mans Series is at Spa and British Touring Cars is at Silverstone. Three of the most iconic tracks in use along with MotoGP possibly breaking into India.
19th November
Is it another cash cow or F1 gone bust with a third race in America with the race in Vegas? It is not the first time F1 has gone racing in Vegas, as they had two races in the 80’s. They raced at Caesars Palace in 1981 and 1982. It is expected that they will be using the Las Vegas Strip in the night race featuring 17 corners going past the previously used palace and Casinos.
The festival in 2022 that announced the race went well and it comes across as an unique event. With the race being the penultimate round of the season we could see a driver or constructor be crowned here – what a place to do so!
Qatar continues to go strength to strength with MotoGP at Losail for another race in penultimate round of this year’s series this weekend as well. An honourable mention for WRC which concludes in Japan on this day too.
Just a few dates to advise! We will give you weekly updates of all events from Speedway to F1 happening on that weekend. Looks like a fantastic year ahead.
An impeccable time was done by Francesco Bagnaia/ Pecco (Ducati) on Saturday during the qualifying, securing him pole position and an all-time new lap record with 1:30.450, from team-mate Jack Miller and Aprilia rider – Aleix Espargaro rounding off the front row.
Ducati dominate in qualifying. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
However, eyes were on Suzuki this weekend following on from the breaking news that they are going to resign from Moto GP at the end of the year, leaving riders Alex Rins and Joan Mir with no ride (as of yet). With this news, how would they fair this race?
France was also looking at home-hero’s Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Johann Zarco (Ducati) to produce something magical during the race, as a French rider has never won at Le Mans in the Premier Class.
The excitement was building:
Race:
As the riders lined up on the grid many teams were choosing to change their tyre choice minutes before lights out, due to the temperature heating up. But, which team was going to decide correctly?
It was a great start from Bastianini (Ducati), who shot into 2nd place behind Miller. Bagnaia went down two places to 3rd. Three Ducati’s led the two Suzuki’s in 4th and 5th.
Bastianini made an early mistake which put him down to 4th place, while Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) fought Yamaha-man Quartararo. But seizing an opportunity during their tussle, Marc Marquez (Honda) took full advantage and surprised everyone, by passing both riders to take 7th place.
By lap 3; Miller led Bagnaia, Rins and Mir. But it wasn’t going to stay that way for long:
Rins suddenly crashed out, ending his race early on turn 4. He managed to rejoin the race after having to go through the gravel, but unfortunately didn’t finish.
Suzuki’s weekend was one to forget. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Miller then led Bagnaia and Bastianini, with 24 laps still to go.
The next lap and it was Miller’s turn to make a mistake, causing him to go wide leaving Bagnaia to take the lead. On the same lap Remy Gardner (KTM) took a tumble out of the race.
Fastest lap swiftly went to Pecco. Was he about to check out?
Hopeful to put on a show for the French fans on lap 6, Fabio tried to overtake the Aprilia for 5th place but to no avail.
Fabio hunts Aleix. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Lap 7 saw Raul Fernandez (KTM) crash out on turn 6, leaving his team-mate to pick up any points.
Back in 3rd place Bastianini seemed to have more pace than the leading Factory Ducati’s. It soon became apparent this was the case as with no warning, he snuck up underneath Miller and claimed 2nd.
Lap 15, turn 14 and it was Mir’s turn to end his race early, cutting Suzuki’s weekend short. With Mir now out, A. Espargaro was bumped up to 4th position and Fabio into 5th.
Only 13 laps until the chequered flag Bagnaia couldn’t seem to shake Bastianini. Was it just a waiting game for The Beast?
Running a good race, Jorge Martin (Ducati) crashed out on turn 9, lap 18. This would be his third time in a row this season.
On lap 21 Bastianini took the plunge and passed Bagnaia to take 1st place but Bagnaia wasn’t having any of it and passed right back again. Then everything happened so quickly: Bagnaia went wide on the next corner giving Bastianini the lead back again. Only moments after that Bagnia crashed out from 2nd on turn 14. Bastianini then had a 2.371 second lead ahead of Miller and A. Espargaro, with the two Frenchmen in 4th and 5th.
Bagnaia crashes out. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
With only 3 laps until the end, number 88 – Miguel Oliveira (KTM) also crashed out.
Last lap time and Bastianini was leading, putting in consistent lap times and a very strong performance – still leading Miller and A. Espargaro. Fabio tried to make a move on Aleix for 3rd but couldn’t quite find the right way to do it. Brilliant riding from Bastianini saw him cruise over the finish line, claiming his 3rd win this season for the Gresini Racing team, with Miller taking some fantastic points in 2nd and holding onto 3rd place, A. Espargaro continued his theme of making history for Aprilia with the first ever 3 consecutive podiums in the Premier Class.
Podium finishers. Courtesy of: Moto GP Twitter Page.
Top Ten Race Finishers:
1st
E. Bastianini
2nd
J. Miller
3rd
A. Espargaro
4th
F. Quartararo
5th
J. Zarco
6th
M. Marquez
7th
T. Nakagami
8th
B. Binder
9th
L. Marini
10th
M. Vinales
It’s still super close at the top for the 2022 championship.
Top Four championship riders:
1st
F. Quartararo
102 points
2nd
A. Espargaro
98 points
3rd
E. Bastianini
94 points
4th
A. Rins
69 points
This season is so unpredictable, we can only guess what is going to happen next round in Italy.
Featured image: “Podium Traditions”. Courtesy of: Moto GP Twitter Page.
Ever changing track conditions at Le Mans caused for some spectacular qualifying. For a few moments it looked as if Marc Marquez (Honda) was going to grab his first pole since 2019! But local boy – Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) had other ideas and snatched it away. Leading from Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) and Jack Miller (Ducati) on the front row. Marquez started 6th place on the grid.
Courtesy of: Superbike-news
Uncharacteristically, the championship leader – Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) qualified low down the grid in 16th place.
Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha), looked in good form and had a flying lap, which would have taken him to front row, but an almost high-side in the last corner, removed those hopes. He slotted into 9th place.
The unpredictable track conditions had meant that Sunday’s race had been declared a flag-to-flag race. The first one in four years – meaning some of the riders had never experienced this before.
This was going to be interesting:
Race:
Le Mans had it all – rain, sun, bike swaps, crashes, penalties! As the drama unfolded in-front of us, one thing was for sure – Miller gave yet another ‘Thriller’ race!
As the riders lined up on the grid, the dark grey clouds loomed overhead. Weather forecasts predicted the rain wouldn’t emerge during the race. Just in-case though it had been declared a flag-to-flag event, meaning the riders had their spare bikes ready with wet tyres on, should the rain interfere with the proceedings.
Miller got a lighting start and led the pack into lap one, from Vinales and Quartararo. But it was Pol Espargaro (Aprilia), that had a ‘moment’, rejoining in the middle of team-mates Rossi and Frankie Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha), Morbidelli had to take evasive action, leaving him holding his knee in the gravel. Already having hurt it during a freak pit-lane accident in qualifying. (He was able to later rejoin, but finished outside the points).
Miller takes the lead. Courtesy of: Motorsport.com
Vinales soon took first and started to slowly break-away. Were we seeing Maverick finally not letting the weather conditions mess with his head? M. Marquez was fighting for 4th place with Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Takaaki Nakagami (Honda)
All to quickly though, bustling started to happen in the pit lane, as the pit crews started to get the second bikes ready for the inevitable change over. Marshals were waving the red and white flags track-side and the riders now had the option to come in and switch bikes. The rain had come earlier than expected!
Quartararo took full advantage to the change of weather conditions and swept through to first place. Vinales, sadly couldn’t help but react negatively to the wet weather and immediately went backwards.
Jack wasn’t prepared to just let Fabio have first place though and soon they were battling for first.
The rain continued to pour, getting heavier by the second. Miller went into the gravel but saved himself and with 23 laps to go he and all the riders decided to enter the pit lane to swap their bikes. M. Marquez made a swift exit from pit lane securing first place. The reigning champion Joan Mir (Suzuki) however, accidently fell upon entering the pit lane.
Pitlane pandemonium. Courtesy of: Moto GP website
Then turn four, saw his team-mate Alex crash. Both Suzuki’s were having a race they would want to forget.
Then seemingly disaster for the Ducati boys! Both Bagnaia and Miller got a double long-lap penalty for exceeding pit-lane speed limits. The speed limit is 60km/h but both were recorded as over it.
With Miller in third place, being led by Quartararo and Marquez, he didn’t want to give up any places, but he took his first long-lap the next lap (lap 9) and then his second on lap 10. Getting them out the way with quick.
Marc Marquez looked like his old self again and even pulled away from Fabio leading with 1.380 seconds and then by 1.973 seconds. He had said that these weather conditions could fall into his hands on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Rins had managed to return to the race with his second bike.
All hearts leapt in unison though as on lap 8, Marquez took a high-side from first position, on the final corner! Launching himself from his bike and rolling through the gravel. He managed to also re-join the race (using the same bike, albeit missing some of its wings).
With Miller taking his second penalty, Quartararo set about extending his lead. Little did he know that he too had collected a penalty. Never having raced a flag-to-flag race he had gone into the pit-lane to swap over his Yamaha’s just to ride into Vinales’s pit box. This was seen as a safety risk which meant he too had to take a long-lap soon. He decided to take it lap 12.
Cutting quickly through the pack, aware that this was his best chance at getting any points this race, Marquez was now the fastest man on track. Ignoring his pain and the rain.
An issue with Lorenzo Savadori’s Aprilia saw him retire from the race. On the same lap Miguel Oliveira (KTM) slid off on the nefarious turn 3. It soon took Rins as well, now his second time seeing the gravel during the race.
Meanwhile Marquez was still slicing through his competitors and with 13 laps to go was in 15th place. His younger brother Alex Marquez (Honda), it is worth noting, was having a brilliant race, from 19th on the grid to 5th by lap 15. By lap 17 M. Marquez had clawed back to 12th place.
Nakagami had his position taken away from him by one of the local boys – Zarco, who was picking up speed – quick. He was now in 3rd place with fellow country-man Quartararo in his sights and the leader – Miller not far away either. Could Le Mans finally have a French winner?
With 11 laps until the end, Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia malfunctioned, leaving the team with DNF’s for both bikes.
Conditions changed again – the track had dried up and the rain ceased. All riders were on their second bike with wet tyres. They could return to the pits again and swap a second time for slick tyres but none of them wanted to be the first to juggle with fate.
Then absolute heartbreak – Marc Marquez crashed out again – turn 6, lap 18, from 11th place. This time he was unable to pick the bike up and return.
Courtesy of: Moto GP website
Miller had a 5.475 second lead over Quartararo, who had a 3.763 second gap to Zarco. But this was decreasing quick! Zarco had both medium wet tyres, where Miller and Quartararo had one soft and one medium tyre each. With the track getting drier each lap, the gap between the two Frenchmen rapidly shrunk. On lap 21 of 27 the gap was 0.696 seconds.
Johann passed Fabio with relative ease with 6 laps to go. Could he catch Miller?
Last lap – the track was completely dry – the riders were all still on wet tyres – there were two Frenchmen hunting down the Australian in first. But it was a Thriller performance from Miller who was in complete control, taking back-to-back victories! His first ever time doing this in the premier class and only his 3rd ever win in Moto GP. He is the first Australian to win back-to-back races since Stoner (Ducati) in 2012.
It was like a win for Fabio (who had never finished on the podium in wet conditions before) and Johann who rounded off the podium in France.
Top 10 race results:
First
Miller
Second
Zarco
Third
Quartararo
Fourth
Bagnaia
Fifth
Petrucci
Sixth
A. Marquez
Seventh
Nakagami
Eigth
P. Espargaro
Ninth
Lecuona
Tenth
Vinales
Championship Standings:
First
Quartararo
80 Points
Second
Bagnaia
79 points
Third
Zarco
68 points
Fourth
Miller
64 points
It was a rollercoaster ride for Miller who said “…they’re gonna red flag this for sure…” aren’t we all glad that they didn’t?
Miller and Quartararo in Parc Ferme – Le Mans. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.
Mugello (30th May) is the next round of the championship and is notably a Ducati track. Can the Dukes keep up this dominating pace? Or will Yamaha fight back and claim the top spot once more?
