Double DNF ends Le Mans weekend for Torres and Terol

For the second consecutive day, the Moto2 riders had less adequate conditions in which to ride tan their Moto3 counterparts. There was the same grey sky, damp track and dry race declaration, but with the addition of a light drizzle as the French GP began at 12:20pm.

The treacherous surface caught out up to fifteen riders over the course of the 22-lap contest. Pol Espargaró led the way early, alongside Takaaki Nakagami, but the former fell alongside teammate Esteve Rabat and the latter would also crash, on lap 6. The ‘Museum’ corner claimed the races of Espargaró, Rabat, Nakagami, Thomas Luthi, Nico Terol and others over the course of the contest. Scott Redding eventually won after a solo escape, as the red flag was shown three laps from the end due to rain.

Starting from sixth on the grid and with the pace to match the leaders, Nico Terol experienced disappointment on Sunday afternoon. A serious of setbacks meant that he would eventually take a DNF for the race, ending a good weekend on a sour note. The condition of the asphalt impeded the Spaniard from picking up temperature in his tyres, dropping positions as a result. After a steady comeback from the MAPFRE Aspar rider, escaping from a rival who had slowed him down, he found himself in eighth place and riding solo. However, on lap 17 he crashed at Turn 7, losing the front end and going to ground.

MAPFRE Aspar teammate Jordi Torres suffered a similar fate, albeit earlier on in proceedings. He was flung from his bike after clipping the grass on the home straight, just after completing the second lap.

Nico Terol (DNF):
“I don’t think that we deserved to finish the weekend in this way, because we had done a great job and had always been amongst the frontrunners. I found it hard to get a feel for the bike on the opening laps, because the tyres weren’t heating up and I was swamped by another rider which put me off. When I left him behind, the lead group had already broken free. I focused on running my own pace, to see if I could progressively cut the gap. However, right at the end I ran slightly wide on a corner, hit a damp patch and lost grip. It is a shame because today, considering the condition of the asphalt, we should have tried to preserve as many points as possible. We should still be optimistic, and happy with the great job we did all weekend. I am sure that the energy I have within will be useful for the next race.”

Jordi Torres (DNF):
“We were facing a new track this weekend and it was harder than we expected to get used to it. After all the work that we had done over the past few days, we had hoped to improve our performance for the race or at least learn something from this French GP. Despite the track condition being difficult, I tried to take a positive approach to the race. Off the start, trying to change from second to third gear, I hit a false gear and lost places. I was patient after that and attempted to push hard to regain positions, but I lacked rear grip. On the second lap I wanted to get so tight behind the rider who was in front, that I clipped the astroturf on the home straight and the bike spat me off. I am ok after the crash, and focusing on Mugello.”

Source: Aspar Media