For the ninth time in his career, Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) will start from pole position in a GP counting towards the world championship.
Already a winner four times on the Le Mans circuit – his first success at the highest level there dates back to 2005 – Tom set the best time at the end of the three free practice sessions, before making qualifying his own. In 1'36.847, the Swiss rider improved the absolute best time in the Moto3 class by 2 tenths of a second, on this circuit which brings back so many good memories. As interesting as the panache demonstrated, we will note the very high level of pace of Lüthi, certainly the man to beat on Sunday in the race. After a very complicated first day, Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten) reacted magnificently, achieving a time, 13th, which will allow him to start from the fifth row of the starting grid. Brilliant the day before, his teammate Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten) fell to 25th place in a hierarchy that was still very tight, the first fifteen finding themselves within less than a second.
The smile was on the face of the “boss”, Frédéric Corminboeuf: “Last year, Tom was strong, he won starting from the second row; this year he is very strong and he will start from pole position tomorrow, all of which is of course a very good omen. But be careful, this will not be a walk in the park, you will have to get off to a good start and then see how many drivers will manage to keep up your pace. Dominique saved the furniture, after a very complicated Friday; he is 13th, less than a second behind, we know the quality of his starts and his racing instincts, he can perfectly maintain, or even strengthen, his current very good place in the championship. Robin's case is again more complex: after Friday's hopes, a solid third free practice session, with old tires, he did not find the solution during qualifying. At his house, there is always a slump during the weekend and we have to fill it by working even harder. In the race, he has to attack, I don't want to see the number 2 in front of his ranking, so top 19 at least, that's what I expect from him. »
They said…
Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten, pole position): “As of Friday, we found a very effective working base, which allowed me to line up the fast laps with already worn tires, a mission continued this morning during the third free practice session. All that remained was to manage qualifying well, I quickly achieved a very good time then, for around fifteen minutes, the track was slower. It improved at the end of the session and Rins came back very close to me. The key is of course consistency and this pole position is the best possible preparation for the race. My record time? The perfect trick does not exist, there is always something to gain, that's what makes the magic of this profession. I know my job, I'm ready, I want to win tomorrow! »
Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten, 13th): “Today we found an interesting path. The gap, of more than 2 seconds on Friday, narrowed to 8 tenths during qualifying. This is proof that we are working a lot, even if I don't yet have the perfect feeling on this circuit and I am unable to say at what pace I will be able to drive in the race. That said, 13th at Le Mans is better than 18th in qualifying in Jerez two weeks ago, and not just mathematically. This is proof that we are moving forward and we will continue to do so on Sunday morning in the warm-up. »
Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten, 25th): “Another failed qualification, I never managed to rediscover, with the new tires, the good feelings I had on Friday. This morning, with tires already worn, it wasn't so bad, but at the important moment, it was no longer going well. No confidence in the front wheel, I lost control several times – without falling –; In our jargon, we say “crossing the skis”, to clearly illustrate the situation, which is not pleasant to live with. We absolutely have to find the solution for the race. »
