After positive practice performances, Quartararo and Navarro suffer crashes when riding in the lead group. Maria Herrera places nineteenth.
Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Navarro left Le Mans empty handed after a tough race on Sunday at the French GP. Despite both riding in the leading group, finally the duo were denied points after respective crashes. Maria Herrera, who started from eleventh on the grid, finished nineteenth.
From the start of the race a large group formed at the front, with Quartararo and Navarro both amongst it. Navarro was ruled out of the fight for victory during the sixth lap of the race, crashing out when riding ninth. Teammate Quartararo had battled with Bastianini and Fenati at the front, but he also suffered a crash with seven laps remaining that left him out of the running.
In a race with many crashes and many retirements – in all 14 riders fell by the wayside – Herrera finished nineteenth and will continue fighting for her first points in the Moto3 World Championship when the series returns in a fortnight’s time.
Fabio Quartararo – not classified
“Today we rode throughout the race at a very high pace and I was able to keep up. Where I found things hardest was on the straight; I could not overtake anyone there and the other riders kept closing the gap – even though I regained a bit of an advantage when cornering. I knew I could not win the race like that and I tried everything to get in front and slow down the pace. I’m happy with the work we have done, but we will try to do better at Mugello.”
Jorge Navarro – not classified
“This weekend we needed more laps in order to feel comfortable with the bike and the circuit. Yesterday we were clever in the qualifying session and that allowed me to start from second place. During the first five laps I adapted to the pace that the frontrunners were setting. I tried to ride smoothly to save myself for the end, but suddenly between Turns 2 and 3 I think I accelerated a little too early; I lost grip with the rear and I could not avoid the crash. I’m very sorry for the team because they’ve been working hard all weekend – especially after yesterday’s crash. We have to start over at Mugello and continue learning.”
Maria Herrera, 19th + 39.450 sec.
“We knew we were coming into the race a little underprepared, because in the warmup we didn’t have time to test the bike out at a good pace. I started well in the race, but today I did not have a good feeling. I’m still a rookie and I have been very motivated this weekend, which has led to some knocks when I have crashed. I think my confidence was hit a little too. I think I was going well, as I got under the 1:43 mark and was putting more laps in on the bike. Starting from eleventh gave me a glimpse of racing at the front, and it makes me see that we can do it.”
