MotoE returns on track in France, for the second round of the 2024 season. In the second of the two races on the Le Mans circuit, Nicholas Spinelli wins again, thus giving himself and the Tech3 E-Racing team a splendid one-two. Hector Garzò, author of the pole position, crashes again.
Nicholas Spinelli also wins race 2 of the 2024 MotoE French GP – This weekend, the MotoE 2024 French GP, the second round of the electric MotoGP category, will be held in Le Mans.
Hector Garzò (Dynavolt IntactGP) starts from pole position and immediately takes the lead of the group but Nicholas Spinelli (Tech3 E-Racing) wastes no time and takes the lead of the race at the first chicane. Mattia Casadei (LCR E-Team) quickly enters the gap left open by Garzò and thus moves into second position. Fourth is Oscar Gutierrez (Axxis-Msi), ahead of Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing). Kevin Zannoni (Openbank Aspar Team), author of an excellent race 1, is eighth while Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) and Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE) are twelfth and thirteenth respectively.
In the first crossing of the finish line, Casadei leaves Spinelli's slipstrem, joins the Tech3 team rider and overtakes him in the fast turn that leads towards the first chicane. At the next chicane, in the braking for turn nine, it was Garzò's turn to overtake Spinelli but the Italian responded to the overtaking immediately and moved back behind the race leader. The leading group at this point is made up in order of Casadei, Spinelli, Garzò, Gutierrez and Zaccone. At this point one of the twists of the race occurs: Hector Garzò, who crashed in race 1, crashes again and has to retire for the second time in the day.
The third lap has just begun and Spinelli decides to respond to the overtaking suffered by Casadei the previous lap. The Tech3 team rider responds to the championship leader with the same maneuver and takes the lead again. Behind the first four riders, we find a group made up of Miquel Pons, Eric Granado, Andrea Mantovani, Kevin Zannoni, Lukas Tulovic and Jordi Torres. During the third lap, Armando Pontone and Eric Granado crashed. It is the second fall for the Brazilian after the one in race 1 in Portimao.
Up front Spinelli and Casadei lap very fast and only Oscar Gutierrez, at his first experience at Le Mans, manages to keep the pace while Zaccone loses ground slightly. The Spaniard makes a small mistake with three laps to go but manages to get back under the leading duo to aim for something more than the third step of the podium. Meanwhile, Zannoni, having climbed up to seventh position, has to serve a long lap penalty for going outside the limits of the track. Torres took advantage of this to move to seventh position while Matteo Ferrari struggled in ninth position.
There are two laps to go in the race and Casadei is determined to take the victory; for a few laps the LCR team rider has been following Spinelli and studying his lines.
The last lap begins and Spinelli understands his opponent's intentions. In the first chicane he holds a perfect line and neutralizes Casadei's attack but at turn six he goes slightly wide and Casadei takes the lead of the race for a moment. After two corners, Spinelli is back in the lead with Casadei trying to pass at every point but the French team's rider closes all the lines well. The last chance for Casadei is in the double curve that leads to the finish line but Spinelli is tight and passes under the checkered flag first.
Race 2 ends with the second victory of the day for Nicholas Spinelli, ahead of Mattia Casadei and rookie Oscar Gutierrez. Following we find Zaccone, Mantovani, Tulovic, Pons, Ferrari, Zannoni and Finello to close the Top 10. Fall and retirement on the last lap for Jordi Torres.
With the one-two at Le Mans, Spinelli thus brings his tally in 2024 to three victories out of four and rises to second place in the standings, just two points behind Casadei. With their respective podiums of the day, Zannoni and Gutierrez rise respectively to third and fourth place in the overall classification, while Garzò, with the double zero, drops to fifth place.
The results of Race 2 of the 2024 MotoE French GP at Le Mans
| POS. | N. | Nat. | Rider | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 |  |
Nicholas Spinelli | Tech3 E-Racing | 13'28.043 | |
| 2 | 40 | |
Mattia Casadei | LCR E-Team | 13'28.182 | 0,139 |
| 3 | 99 |  |
Oscar Gutierrez | Axxis-MSI | 13'28.453 | 0,410 |
| 4 | 61 | |
Alessandro Zaccone | Tech3 E-Racing | 13'29.975 | 1,932 |
| 5 | 9 | |
Andrea Mantovani | Klint Forward Factory Team | 13'32.388 | 4,345 |
| 6 | 3 |  |
Lukas Tulovic | Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™ | 13'32.971 | 4,928 |
| 7 | 77 | |
Miquel Pons | Axxis-MSI | 13'33.871 | 5,828 |
| 8 | 11 | |
Matteo Ferrari | Felo Gresini MotoE™ | 13'34.037 | 5,994 |
| 9 | 21 | |
Kevin Zannoni | Openbank Aspar Team | 13'35.269 | 7,226 |
| 10 | 72 | |
Alessio Finello | Felo Gresini MotoE™ | 13'37.130 | 9,087 |
| 11 | 34 | |
Kevin Manfredi | Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse | 13'37.947 | 9,904 |
| 12 | 7 |  |
Chaz Davies | Aruba Cloud MotoE™ Racing Team | 13'38.394 | 10,351 |
| 13 | 55 | |
Massimo Roccoli | Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse | 13'38.556 | 10,513 |
| 14 | 6 | |
Maria Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team | 13'46.856 | 18,813 |
| 15 | 81 | |
Jordi Torres | Openbank Aspar Team | nc | 0,000 |
| 16 | 51 |  |
Eric Granado | LCR E-Team | nc | 0,000 |
| 17 | 80 | |
Armando Pontone | Aruba Cloud MotoE™ Racing Team | nc | 0,000 |
| 18 | 4 | |
Hector Garzo | Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™ | nc | 0,000 |
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