GP of France of the MotoE - Mattia Casadei achieves the pole position at Le Mans by one thousandth ahead of Dominique Aegerter and Kevin Zannoni. First pole for Casadei and first time in the front row for Zannoni.
GP of France of the MotoE - The time has come for qualifying in Q1 and Q2 style for the MotoE World Cup at the Le Mans circuit.
At the end of Q1, the fastest riders were Mattia Casadei and Hikari Okubo, who then moved to Q2 after having recharged the battery of their bikes and mounted a new rear tire.
These are the results of the Q1 of the MotoE in the French GP:
| POS. | N. | Nat. | Rider | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 |  |
Mattia CASADEI | Pons Racing 40 | 1,44.055 | |
| 2 | 78 |  |
Hikari OKUBO | Avant Ajo MotoE | 1,44.327 | 0,272 |
| 3 | 17 |  |
Alex ESCRIG | Tech 3 E-racing | 1,44.371 | 0,316 |
| 4 | 4 | |
Hector GARZO | Tech3 E-Racing | 1,44.388 | 0,333 |
| 5 | 70 | |
Marc ALCOBA | Zinia Aspar Team | 1,44.485 | 0,430 |
| 6 | 71 | |
Miquel PONS | LCR E-Team | 1,44.571 | 0,516 |
| 7 | 6 | |
Maria HERRERA | Zinia Aspar Team | 1,45.189 | 1,134 |
| 8 | 9 | |
Andrea MANTOVANI | WithU GRT RNF MotoE Team | 1,45.617 | 1,562 |
| 9 | 34 | |
Kevin MANFREDI | OCTO PRAMAC MotoE | 1,45.767 | 1,712 |
| 10 | 72 | |
Alessio FINELLO | FELO Gresini MotoE | 1,45.974 | 1,919 |
In Q1 Casadei immediately set a very fast laptime but Okubo and Garzò managed to improve him in the following laps. Three minutes from the end of Q1, Casadei set a very fast lap in 1:44.055 which allowed him to gain access to Q2. Behind him was Okubo followed by an excellent Alex Escrig, who just missed the second Q2 on two participations in the MotoE. Miquel Pons, poleman in Spain, seemed able to gain access to Q2 in his last flying lap but a mistake in the middle of the lap forced him to give up and start from fourteenth on the grid.
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The gallery of the French GP of MotoE in Le Mans
The results of Q2
At the end of Q2, Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) was the fastest ahead of Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Kevin Zannoni (Sic58 Squadra Corse) who will therefore start from the front row in both races of the French GP. In the second row will start Eric Granado (LCR E-Team), Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) and Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE).
At the beginning of the session it is Zannoni who takes the lead with a first lap in 1:43.8 done using the slipstream of Torres but in the following lap without a slipstream the Italian rider of the Sic58 team managed to do even better, scoring a time of 1:43.580. At that point Mattia Casadei entered on track having recharged his battery after the best laptime in Q1. Casadei mounted a new tire at the rear, while at the front he kept the same tire used in Q1.
Casadei made a first pass in 1:43.568 which was however canceled for having exceeded the track limits. On the following lap, the Pons Racing 40 rider improved further and set the laptime of 1:43.559, just over a tenth from the track record.
Halfway through the last lap Torres and Aegerter were ahead of Casadei by just over a tenth. Torres, however, lost tenths in the third sector and reached the finish line in fifth position. Aegerter, on the other hand, in the third sector was still 1 tenth ahead of Casadei. The last corners of the Italian must have been exceptional because Aegerter lost all the accumulated advantage and passed under the checkered flag with a delay of 1 thousandth from Casadei. Third remained Kevin Zannoni, ahead of Eric Granado, Jordi Torres and Hikari Okubo. Seventh position and third row for Matteo Ferrari (FELO Gresini MotoE). Niccolò Canepa, Xavi Cardelus and Xavi Fores close the Top 10.
Here are the times of Q2:
| POS. | N. | Nat. | Rider | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | |
Mattia CASADEI | Pons Racing 40 | 1,43.559 | |
| 2 | 77 |  |
Dominique AEGERTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 1,43.560 | 0,001 |
| 3 | 21 | |
Kevin ZANNONI | Ongetta Sic58 Squadra Corse | 1,43.580 | 0,021 |
| 4 | 51 |  |
Eric GRANADO | LCR E-Team | 1,43.782 | 0,223 |
| 5 | 40 | |
Jordi TORRES | Pons Racing 40 | 1,43.862 | 0,303 |
| 6 | 78 | |
Hikari OKUBO | Avant Ajo MotoE | 1,43.872 | 0,313 |
| 7 | 11 | |
Matteo FERRARI | FELO Gresini MotoE | 1,44.064 | 0,505 |
| 8 | 7 | |
Niccolo CANEPA | WithU GRT RNF MotoE Team | 1,44.267 | 0,708 |
| 9 | 18 |  |
Xavier CARDELUS | Avintia Esponsorama Team | 1,44.464 | 0,905 |
| 10 | 12 | |
Xavi FORES | OCTO Pramac MotoE | 1,44.801 | 1,242 |
Saturday Race 1 will start at 16:25 while Race 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 15:30.
Here the starting grid:
| POS. | N. | Nat. | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | |
Mattia CASADEI | Pons Racing 40 | 1,43.559 |
| 2 | 77 | |
Dominique AEGERTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 1,43.560 |
| 3 | 21 | |
Kevin ZANNONI | Ongetta Sic58 Squadra Corse | 1,43.580 |
| 4 | 51 | |
Eric GRANADO | LCR E-Team | 1,43.782 |
| 5 | 40 | |
Jordi TORRES | Pons Racing 40 | 1,43.862 |
| 6 | 78 | |
Hikari OKUBO | Avant Ajo MotoE | 1,43.872 |
| 7 | 11 | |
Matteo FERRARI | FELO Gresini MotoE | 1,44.064 |
| 8 | 7 | |
Niccolo CANEPA | WithU GRT RNF MotoE Team | 1,44.267 |
| 9 | 18 | |
Xavier CARDELUS | Avintia Esponsorama Team | 1,44.464 |
| 10 | 12 | |
Xavi FORES | OCTO Pramac MotoE | 1,44.801 |
| 11 | 17 | |
Alex ESCRIG | Tech 3 E-racing | 1,44.371 |
| 12 | 4 | |
Hector GARZO | Tech3 E-Racing | 1,44.388 |
| 13 | 70 | |
Marc ALCOBA | Zinia Aspar Team | 1,44.485 |
| 14 | 71 | |
Miquel PONS | LCR E-Team | 1,44.571 |
| 15 | 6 | |
Maria HERRERA | Zinia Aspar Team | 1,45.189 |
| 16 | 9 | |
Andrea MANTOVANI | WithU GRT RNF MotoE Team | 1,45.617 |
| 17 | 34 | |
Kevin MANFREDI | OCTO PRAMAC MotoE | 1,45.767 |
| 18 | 72 | |
Alessio FINELLO | FELO Gresini MotoE | 1,45.974 |
Photos: motogp.com
The qualifications of the Spanish GP of the MotoE are available for free on the MotoGP youtube channel at this link: https://youtu.be/7GsEDCp5wYk
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