Ryusei Yamanaka in front of Jason Dupasquier (both CarXpert PruestelGP KTM) and Max Kofler (CIP Green Power KTM) – at the very back left you can already see Pedro Acosta approaching, who showed a simply unbelievable race and delivered a true demonstration of his skills.

Review of the Moto3 Grand Prix of France at Le Mans

Even before the start it was clear that there would be no race as we had experienced in the 4 laps before. Because there is no really long straight at Le Mans, there are no slipstream battles, as is common in Losail and Portimão. That is why we had already announced in advance that some drivers might flee at the Bugatti Circuit. Given the extremely slippery conditions, it was also to be expected that some would find themselves in the gravel bed. This also happened from the second round, and it started with Niccolò Antonelli, followed by Tatsuki Suzuki, Jeremy Alcoba, World Championship leader Pedro Acosta and Jaume Masia. While the latter and the Japanese were immediately out of the race, the Italian was supposed to pit to give up there.

Filip Salac (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda) drove a sensationally strong race and should have given the fans a lot of joy in his home country, the Czech Republic, after they lost their traditional race in Brno for good this season. Fortunately, WorldSBK found its way back to the Czech Republic and will be in Most for the first time in August.

The rookies catching up is well worth seeing
Starting the race from 21st position on the grid, 16-year-old Acosta was already in 10th place after one lap. One deal later he was sixth before he was on the ground a little later. As fourth from last back on the track, the rookie impressed with his chase from position 21, which exactly corresponded to his starting position, to eighth. We asked ourselves how the drivers had to be, whom he was literally flying past. For example, Max Kofler, who was still in 10th position on the ninth lap. Shortly afterwards, the Austrian had his KTM brand colleague on the back of his neck and within one lap he was already more than 1.5 seconds ahead of him. At the finish, the two separated over 23 seconds. What this means can be expressed in numbers, because Pedro Acosta had to have driven more than 2 seconds faster than the young man from the Alpine republic from half-time per lap. While Kofler could attack freely and still missed the points in the end, the Spaniard was about the World Cup, just unbelievable!

Sergio Garcia rode the KTM, which had been renamed and repainted, simply the best of all and the young Spaniard has earned his laurels with it. As second in the World Cup, he is now the first pursuer of the compatriot at the top of the table since the French GP.

The other winners

Of course, one would have to first mention winner Garcia, the second Salac and Rossi in third place, but the sensation of the race came from Acosta. Therefore, the performance of the three should not be underestimated. To leave a John McPhee behind as one of the best in such conditions under the most difficult conditions demands respect. In addition to the three young men and the Scot, all the drivers in the points were among the winners. Not making a major mistake in such conditions was an extremely difficult task for any driver. Pole setter Andrea Migno shouldn’t worry about 11th place either, as he is only 2 points behind second place in the world championship.

Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3 Honda) in front of a bunch of drivers, behind him with the number 17 John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing Honda), who finally crossed the finish line for the first time in 4th place this season.

The many losers in the fifth round of the World Cup

Niccolò Antonelli, Darryn Binder and Jaume Masia failed in the race, but except for Pedro Acosta, they hardly lost touch with the rest of the drivers ahead of them in the intermediate classification. For pilots like Dennis Foggia and Gabriel Rodrigo, on the other hand, it was much more annoying because of their failure in connection with their situation in the World Cup. Both the Italian and the Argentine had the chance to catch up with the first pursuers of the World Cup leader before their second zero in a row. Nothing came of that and in Mugello it is therefore important not to make any more mistakes. It now looks very threatening for Max Kofler. The Austrian is only one position away from taking over the red lantern, and he will soon have to hope for help from KTM in order to remain in the Moto3 World Championship at all.

The winners’ podium with Filip Salac (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda, P2), winner Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team, on the KTM-GasGas) and third-placed Riccardo Rossi (BOE Owlride KTM).

The Moto3 race for the French Grand Prix in numbers

The stand in the world championship with a lonely leading rookie

With over twice as many points as his closest rival Sergio Garcia, Pedro Acosta is lonely at the top. To be able to retire twice after 5 laps and not to lose the lead in the intermediate classification, that says a lot about the dominance of the 16-year-old rookie. It will be interesting to see how he will do in Moto2, and it is no longer a secret that he will replace Remy Gardner, who has switched to MotoGP, in the Red Bull Ajo Kalex Team for the 2021 season. Besides the world championship leader, only Romano Fenati, Jason Dupasquier and Ryusei Yamanaka made it into the points every time.

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