RODRIGO SETTLES FOR TOP 10 IN LE MANS FREE PRACTICE
The opening day of the Grand Prix of France was not a negative one for Team Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 with Gabriel Rodrigo topping the timesheets in FP1 and then finishing among the quickest at the end of the day by taking eighth place in the combined times – only 0.4secs away from Ogura’s provisional pole position.
The second free practice session was surely more complicated than expected for the Argentine ace, who, despite being able to improve his morning’s lap-time by half a second, decided not to ride at the limit in light of the many crashes – which also involved his team mate Riccardo Rossi.
The Italian – who has raced here in the past in the CEV – lost control of his Honda machine at turn five few minutes into the session. Riccardo was 26that the end of the opening day of action with a lot of work still to be done and an FP3 that will be crucial ahead of the race – as his and his crew’s attention will mainly turn to front-grip feeling and tyre choice.
8th– GABRI RODRIGO #19
“I was very comfortable aboard the bike from the morning already and the first position in GP1 showed it clearly. Then in the afternoon there were many crashes due to the higher track temperatures: I was quicker, but in a couple of occasions I felt too much near the limit and I chose not to take any risk – despite being few tenths away from the best lap-time. It’s clear we have room for improvement and we will work tomorrow mainly for the race: we need to find more grip on longer corners, which is where I lose more time.”
26th– RICCARDO ROSSI #54
“First of all the crash was a bit weird: I was faster compared to the morning session as I was taking advantage of Gabri’s slipstream, but then I lost the front without warning. I really miss something at the front-end of the bike, but I’m confident that if we solve this feeling issue we can do really well, as I feel very comfortable at this track. Let’s see what happens tomorrow: first and foremost, I hope it won’t rain because FP3 are going to be crucial for tyre selection, too.”
