SPECTACULAR SERGIO WINS MOTO2 IN FANTASTIC FRENCH GRAND PRIX
Alonso Lopez was the early pace setter until Sergio Garcia set a blistering pace in practice one and was the first to beat the previous all-time lap record. Manuel Gonzalez would ultimately take the honour of the new record with a 1m 34.868 in P2. In qualifying, the hero of the day was Aron Canet who returned from having surgery on his ankle. Despite walking on crutches, he battled through the pain to put his 765cc triple powered Triumph on pole, ahead of Joe Roberts and Sergio Garcia in third.
In Sunday’s race, it was Garcia who got the best start, blasting through to take the holeshot ahead of Roberts, Gonzalez and Lopez. Canet didn’t get a good start and was then pushed wide but he soon started making his way back through the pack.
Lopez pushed past Gonzalez into third before he then lost another place to Canet who also got through and set the new race-lap record of 1m 35.796 as he continued his recovery from the first lap dramas.
Canet got through on Lopez into third as Gonzalez crashed out of podium contention with a rare mistake from him for his first DNF of the year. There was a tense three-way battle between Roberts, Canet and Lopez for second playing into the hands of Garcia at the front. Ai Ogura was once again proving himself the comeback king, having started 17th on the grid. He managed to get himself in the fight for the podium with five laps to go and the four-way battle for the final two steps of the podium raged on to the end.
Garcia crossed the line for his second victory of the year and it was his teammate Ogura who won the battle for second for his first podium of the season. Lopez fended off Roberts for third ending the American’s run of consecutive rostrums. Somkiat Chantra crossed the line in fifth ahead of Canet who fought hard but the pain from his injury got the better of him as he slipped down the order to sixth.
Triumph Triple Trophy
Triumph and MotoGP announced a new format for the Triumph Triple Trophy for 2024, where the winner will take home a Street Triple 765 RS prize bike at the end of the season.
This year, a judging panel picks a short list of three standout riders which will be published on MotoGP’s Instagram stories. Fans can then vote for their favourite.
The points awarded are in reference to Triumph’s 765cc engine:
-
7 points for the rider with most fan votes
-
6 points for the rider with second most fan votes
-
5 points for the rider with third most fan votes
This week’s shortlist is:
1. Ai Ogura was once again the comeback King making up 15 places and scoring his first podium of the year.
2. Aron Canet for battling through the pain to get pole position, the new lap record and putting up a brave fight in the race.
3. Sergio Garcia for being consistently fast all weekend and a faultless race.
Look out for the Instagram stories on MotoGP’s official Instagram account @motogp to vote for your favourite.
Catalunya is the next Moto2 round in two weeks time, 24 - 26 May.
