In the MotoE French GP at Le Mans, Jordi Torres and Matteo Ferrari claimed victory in Race 1 and Race 2, respectively. Here is the report of the two races.
This is the report of the two races of the MotoE French GP which took place this weekend at the circuit of Le Mans, the first round of the 2023 season of the MotoE, the first with World Championship status and with the new V21L electric Ducati.
GP of France of the MotoE: Race 1
Garzò got off to an excellent start, immediately moving ahead of Ferrari and Torres. Nicolas Spinelli (HP Pons Los40) moves up to fourth position after a good start, with the rookie slipping behind the top three.
Leading the race, Garzò and Ferrari swapped the lead on lap two and then again on the following lap, with the Italian overtaking the Spaniard twice at turn 5 thanks to a closer and more effective line.
As many riders had predicted, the front tire began to drop its performance in the middle of the race. The first of the riders who suffered from the drop in tire performance was Nicholas Spinelli while he was in fourth position, battling with Ferrari, Garzò and Torres for a place on the podium. Immediately afterwards, Mantovani crashed, and in the following lap, it was the turn of Pons and Casadei.
Four laps from the end, the twist of the race. At turn six, a downhill right-hander that MotoE does around 90 km/h, Garzò has a wide trajectory, and Ferrari takes the opportunity to take the lead again. At the following braking, the Gresini team rider is slightly off the trajectory, the front loses grip, and the Italian ends up on the ground. Garzò takes the lead, closely followed by Jordi Torres.
Behind them, more than five seconds away, is a group of riders made up of Krummenacher, Manfredi, Zaccone, Okubo and Zannoni.
At the time of Ferrari's crash, the yellow flags were still displayed on that sector of track due to the crash of Casadei and Pons. The fact that the yellow flags were still in force cost Ferrari a long-lap penalty to be served in Race 2.
Alessandro Zaccone and Kevin Manfredi were also sanctioned with a long lap penalty to be served immediately, for cutting a chicane.
The last lap saw Torres choosing the perfect moment to attack Garzò at the first chicane and then giving his all to keep the Intact GP team rider behind him. Torres succeeded; the number 81 managed to keep the front until the finish line, taking the first victory of the FIM Enel MotoE World Championship for less than a tenth.
Behind Garzò, the fight for the podium saw Krummenacher excel, at his debut in MotoE, ahead of Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse). Hikari Okubo (Tech3 E-Racing) completed the Top 5.
This is the order of arrival for Race 1 of the French GP of MotoE:
| POS. | N. | Nat. | Rider | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 |  |
Jordi TORRES | Openbank Aspar Team | 13'29.947 | |
| 2 | 4 | |
Hector GARZO | Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE | 13'30.039 | 0,092 |
| 3 | 3 |  |
Randy KRUMMENACHER | Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE | 13'37.486 | 7,539 |
| 4 | 21 |  |
Kevin ZANNONI | Ongetta Sic58 Squadra Corse | 13'37.774 | 7,827 |
| 5 | 78 |  |
Hikari OKUBO | TECH3 E-Racing | 13'39.085 | 9,138 |
| 6 | 53 | |
Tito RABAT | Prettl Pramac MotoE | 13'40.880 | 10,933 |
| 7 | 34 | |
Kevin MANFREDI | Ongetta Sic58 Squadra Corse | 13'41.145 | 11,198 |
| 8 | 61 | |
Alessandro ZACCONE | TECH3 E-Racing | 13'42.435 | 12,488 |
| 9 | 72 | |
Alessio FINELLO | FELO Gresini MotoE | 13'44.525 | 14,578 |
| 10 | 23 | |
Luca SALVADORI | Prettl Pramac MotoE | 13'44.765 | 14,818 |
| 11 | 8 | |
Mika PEREZ | RNF MotoE Team | 13'48.124 | 18,177 |
| 12 | 6 | |
Maria HERRERA | Openbank Aspar Team | 13'54.686 | 24,739 |
| 13 | 11 | |
Matteo FERRARI | FELO Gresini MotoE | nc | 0,000 |
| 14 | 40 | |
Mattia CASADEI | Pons Racing 40 | nc | 0,000 |
| 15 | 77 | |
Miquel PONS | LCR E-Team | nc | 0,000 |
| 16 | 9 | |
Andrea MANTOVANI | RNF MotoE Team | nc | 0,000 |
| 17 | 29 | |
Nicholas SPINELLI | Pons Racing 40 | nc | 0,000 |
GP of France of the MotoE: Race 2
Matteo Ferrari, who started from pole position, immediately regained the lead of the race, putting himself in front of Garzò, who had entered the first corner first. Behind them, the winner of race 1, Jordi Torres. The Gresini team rider knew that he would have to serve a long lap penalty for crashing under the yellow flag in Race 1.
Nicholas Spinelli (HP Pons Los40) also got off to a good start and gained the fourth position, while his teammate Mattia Casadei was in fifth position after a few corners.
After taking the lead of the race, Ferrari pushed hardly, making many fast laps at a pace of 1:40 to gain as much advantage as possible before the message from the Race Direction to do the Long Lap. Ferrari took the penalty on the last opportunity, rejoining the track behind Torres and Garzò and ahead of Casadei and Spinelli.
Ferrari's mission was clear, to win Race 2. The Italian tailed Garzò until he found a gap at turn 1 to then set off in pursuit of Torres. The overtaking on the Spaniard took place on the last lap, in the fast corner of over 240 km/h immediately after the finish line. Ferrari entered the chicane first and managed to stay ahead on the final lap to take his first win of the year in style.
Torres' second place was very tactical, as the Spaniard increased his lead in terms of points, while Garzò, third, conquered his second podium of the day and second place in the general standings. The fight immediately behind them saw Casadei beat teammate Spinelli. Behind them, in the Top 10: Mantovani, Krummenacher, Zannoni, Zaccone and Okubo.
For Gresini Racing it is the 200th podium in the World Championship, and for Ferrari it is the first victory on a non-Italian circuit.
This is the order of arrival for Race 2 of the French GP of MotoE:
| POS. | N. | Nat. | Rider | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | |
Matteo FERRARI | FELO Gresini MotoE | 13'28.079 | |
| 2 | 81 | |
Jordi TORRES | Openbank Aspar Team | 13'28.791 | 0,712 |
| 3 | 4 | |
Hector GARZO | Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE | 13'29.772 | 1,693 |
| 4 | 40 | |
Mattia CASADEI | Pons Racing 40 | 13'31.224 | 3,145 |
| 5 | 29 | |
Nicholas SPINELLI | Pons Racing 40 | 13'31.860 | 3,781 |
| 6 | 9 | |
Andrea MANTOVANI | RNF MotoE Team | 13'34.131 | 6,052 |
| 7 | 3 | |
Randy KRUMMENACHER | Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE | 13'34.634 | 6,555 |
| 8 | 21 | |
Kevin ZANNONI | Ongetta Sic58 Squadra Corse | 13'35.596 | 7,517 |
| 9 | 61 | |
Alessandro ZACCONE | TECH3 E-Racing | 13'38.222 | 10,143 |
| 10 | 78 | |
Hikari OKUBO | TECH3 E-Racing | 13'41.640 | 13,561 |
| 11 | 72 | |
Alessio FINELLO | FELO Gresini MotoE | 13'41.701 | 13,622 |
| 12 | 77 | |
Miquel PONS | LCR E-Team | 13'44.882 | 16,803 |
| 13 | 23 | |
Luca SALVADORI | Prettl Pramac MotoE | 13'45.850 | 17,771 |
| 14 | 8 | |
Mika PEREZ | RNF MotoE Team | 13'46.987 | 18,908 |
| 15 | 6 | |
Maria HERRERA | Openbank Aspar Team | 13'49.298 | 21,219 |
| 16 | 53 | |
Tito RABAT | Prettl Pramac MotoE | 14'26.662 | 58,583 |
| 17 | 34 | |
Kevin MANFREDI | Ongetta Sic58 Squadra Corse | nc | 0,000 |
After the two Le Mans races, the leader of MotoE is Jordi Torres with 45 points, ahead of Garzò, Ferrari, Krummenacher and Zannoni.
The next round of the MotoE World Championship is the Italian GP at Mugello on the 9th and 10th of June.
MotoE World Championship
The standings of the 2023 championship
MotoE World Championship
The gallery of the French GP 2023
Photos: MotoGP
To be updated on the MotoE World Championship, subscribe to Epaddock's Whatsapp broadcast and receive all our news for free on your mobile phone in real time: find out how here.
