It’s a Cal Crutchlow with low morale who left Sarthe to now envisage an Italian Grand Prix with pessimism. The Englishman did not make any sparks during a fifth meeting of the year which he finished in ninth place. In the points therefore and in the top 10, but as second of a satellite team behind Miller. And with a corrosive feeling of helplessness behind the handlebars of a Honda on which he admits not being able to do better.
Honda celebrated its 300th victory in the premier class thanks to its champion Marc Márquez. And the latter is in his third victory in five races completed out of the 19 on the program this season. Put like that, you might think that the RC213V is the lethal weapon. However… " My regrets are still the same: we have a powerful engine this year and I can't complain because Marc won the race. But I don't ride like him, no one else can ».
It is true that the other Honda drivers hardly shone. Crutchlow is therefore ninth, but Lorenzo finished eleventh while Nakagami dropped. “ After the first lap I was ninth and finished ninth » declared the LCR driver after his disappointing result in France. He started from fifteenth place on the grid. “ I didn't feel very good with the tires or the bike and I couldn't keep up with the guys in front of me. Normally, it's my strength to be faster towards the end of the race. Being ninth after one lap, I expected to finish fifth or sixth ».
« After Jerez testing I thought the bike at Le Mans would be better " remember Crutchlow, who lost 9.853 seconds on the winner Márquez. " The bike is doing a lot of wheelies and it is out of my control. I hope we resolve this before Mugello. Of course, my qualification didn't help me. If I had started three or four places up front, I would have been there. To pass the guys in front of me, I would have had to drive 3/10s faster per lap, but I couldn't do it ».
In the general classification, Crutchlow occupies 7th place with 34 points after five races out of 19. He is eight points behind Jack Miller for the place of best independent driver.
French Grand Prix Le Mans MotoGP J3: classification
| 1 | 93 | Marc MÁRQUEZ | Honda | 41'53.647 |
| 2 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | +1.984 |
| 3 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | +2.142 |
| 4 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | +2.940 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +3.053 |
| 6 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARÓ | KTM | +5.935 |
| 7 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | +7.187 |
| 8 | 20 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | +8.439 |
| 9 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +9.853 |
| 10 | 42 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | +13.709 |
| 11 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Honda | +15.003 |
| 12 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARÓ | Aprilia | +29.512 |
| 13 | 5 | johann zarco | KTM | +33.061 |
| 14 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM | +35.481 |
| 15 | 88 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | +36.044 |
| 16 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | 1 laps |
| Not Classified | ||||
| 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 9 lapses | |
| 29 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia | 19 lapses | |
| 12 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 21 lapses | |
| 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 21 lapses | |
| 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 25 lapses | |
| Excluded | ||||
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 0 laps |
