Repsol riders fight for the rostrum until the last lap in French GP. Jorge Navarro places third and lies second in the World Championship, and Aron Canet –fourth– is now thirteenth overall.
The Moto3 French Grand Prix was an excellent race for Repsol riders Jorge Navarro and Aron Canet. Contested in a tight group typical of Le Mans, amidst good riding weather, the event saw the pair place third and fourth, respectively.
A group of four riders escaped from the rest of the field from the start, with Navarro and Canet well located alongside World Championship leader Brad Binder and Romano Fenati. The quartet remained together until a heart-stopping final lap, in which both Navarro and Canet made a push for victory. In the end, Binder would cross the line first, with Fenati second and Navarro edging out his rookie teammate to complete the rostrum. Canet had tried to make a pass on the final corner, which was ultimately unsuccessful and led to him finishing an impressive fourth.
Following a positive round for the Repsol Moto3 riders, their next challenge will come in a fortnight’s time at Mugello, in the Italian Grand Prix
Jorge Navarro
“It has been a positive Grand Prix, because after a crash in testing at Montmelo test, I was not 100% fit and this circuit was tough for us last year anyway. We did a great job, right from the first Free Practice. I started well, stuck with the leading group and, when I saw that everything was stabilised, I decided to save energy because my shoulder felt a little tired – especially when braking. I decided to wait for the last five laps to start my attack and position myself well. We found accelerating a little hard compared to Binder and Fenati; I tried to stay as tight as possible, but still couldn’t go into corners in a position to overtake. That was something that hindered us throughout the race. This result is not the best for the World Championship, because the two riders who I am fighting with placed ahead of me, but looking at it from the outside, 16 points in this race is very good and there will be better races.”
Aron Canet
“Today I think I put in a very good showing and I was very comfortable riding with the front group. I improved as the race went on, matching the pace of the frontrunners, but in the end they took me right to my limit. On the last corner I tried to pass my teammate, Navarro, but I wasn’t able to do so. Riding for the whole race with the leaders was tough, but I enjoyed the experience and I hope to repeat it soon. I’m happy with the weekend we have had; now we have to start thinking about Mugello.”
