A multiple crash caused the first Grand Prix of the day to be interrupted, with at least 16 drivers on the ground.
Jorge Martín started from pole position for the third time in his career, which put him tied with John McPhee and Romano Fenati. It was the first time that a Spanish rider had achieved two successive poles in Moto3 since Alex Rins in 2013 (Japan-Valencia). Martin hoped to win his first Grand Prix.
Nicholas Bulega had qualified second on the grid, equaling his best qualifying result in 2017. He too was aiming for his first Grand Prix victory and the first victory for KTM since Brad Binder in Valencia last year. It was the first time since Phillip Island in Australia last October that two KTM riders qualified on the front row.
The air temperature was 18° and the air temperature was 28°. gabriel rodrigo was withdrawn due to a broken collarbone during practice. He hopes to be back for the Catalan GP (June 11). Martin, Bulega and Guevara started from the first row, Danilo from the sixth. The sun was shining.
Jorge Martin was the fastest at the start ahead of Romano Fenati, Albert Arenas, Juanfran Guevara, Joan Mir and Nicolo Bulega. A double fall eliminated Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Tatsuki Suzuki. Adam Norrodin and Jakub Kornfeil fell shortly after. An avalanche of falls occurred on oil lost by one of the pilots who had previously fallen. The race was stopped at the red flag, with a new start scheduled for 16 laps. Bulega, Antonelli and Mir took charge of the medical headquarters.
Unbelievable scenes in # Moto3! Nearly half the field down in one turn!#FrenchGP pic.twitter.com/OneoWHKfce
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) May 21, 2017
The first pile-up in the red flagged # Moto3 breed…
Battered and bruised but all up & walked away! #FrenchGP pic.twitter.com/vexLJQ984M
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) May 21, 2017
