Moto3 Le Mans France FP1: John McPhee passes between the drops in a festival of falls

Rookie Pedro Acosta (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #37) dominates the Moto3 Championship head and shoulders, with 3 victories and a 2nd place in just 4 races. But beyond these breathtaking statistics, what we will notice is this already significant gap compared to the competition. Niccolò Antonelli (KTM, Reale Avintia, #23) and Andrea Migno (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #16), his two closest pursuers, are already more than 50 points behind, which they could make up for by winning 2 races .

Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) and Darryn binder (KTM, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #40), who occupied these second and third places before the Jerez race, were unlucky during the meeting in Andalusia: the Valencian having been involved in a fall with Deniz Öncü (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53) in the last corner and the South African could not avoid them. As a result, the latter find themselves relegated to fifth and sixth positions. But if Peter Acosta (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #37) has largely broken away, nothing is decided for the moment, the Championship is long and can hold many surprises.

As for our French representative in the category, Lorenzo Fellon (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #20), he continues to learn, and even if he is not satisfied because he has not finished any race in the points, his Team Manager, Paolo Simoncelli, does not forget which “Fellon is growing and learning very quickly, but he remains a rookie with very little experience, and I would like to point out that he only did one year in CEV and one year in ETC. On the other hand, here he's fighting guys who are learning to run first and then walk, so experience is the key word. A single fall during a weekend with such complicated track conditions means a lot. So he just needs to ride again and again.”

Last year, at Le Mans, it was the first weekend of competition in the rain for more than 2 years for the Paddock, and we witnessed a festival of falls. Will we witness a new demonstration from the prodigy Pedro Acosta in the Sarthe, a circuit on which he has never raced, with more than precarious grip conditions, and undoubtedly difficulties in keeping the tires warm?

In the meantime, it's time for the show for this French Grand Prix, where Jakub Kornfeill hosted the show in 2017:

What will this start of the French Grand Prix? Before answering this question, here is the table summarizing the facts known so far.

Moto3™ Le Mans	2020	2021
FP1	1'55.217 John McPhee	1'53.294 John McPhee
FP2	1'44.820 Filip Salač
FP3	1'42.153 Raúl Fernández
Q1	1'42.317 Kaito Toba
Q2	1'41.399 Jaume Masia
Warm Up	1'42.514 Andrea Migno
Course	Vietti, Arbolino, Arenas
All time lap record	1'41.399 Jaume Masia

To start the French Grand Prix Weekend, the weather conditions are complicated... It's just 9°C in the air, and 7°C on the track. The sky is gray, the track is damp but drying and it is not raining yet.

With these conditions, it will be difficult to warm up the tires this morning. Darryn binder (KTM, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #40) is the first to enter the track, followed by Lorenzo Fellon (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #20), Carlos Tatay (KTM, Reale Avintia Moto3, #99) and Niccolo Antonelli (KTM, Reale Avintia, #23). Obviously, rain tires are included, and caution is required for the first lap.

And yet, Andrea Migno (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #16) was surprised under the Dunlop footbridge on his first lap, a small highside. Jeremy Alcove (Honda, Team Gresini Moto3, #52) fell at the exit of the Dunlop chicane, 3 turns after leaving the pits.

After a round, Peter Acosta (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #37) and Andi Farid Izdihar (Honda, Honda Team Asia, #19) slide in turn at the entrance to the Dunlop chicane. Carlos Tatay (KTM, Reale Avintia Moto3, #99) imitated them shortly after, in these precarious conditions. Already 5 falls, including 3 at Dunlop, in less than 10 minutes…

The times are mixed this morning. After 10 minutes on the track, Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) is the most comfortable in these complicated conditions and completes the Bugatti circuit in 1'55.490, ahead of Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) in 1'57.650 and Xavier Artigas (Honda, Leopard Racing, #43). There are already more than 2 seconds between the first and the second!

Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53) was in turn trapped at turn 3, the entrance to the Dunlop chicane. It must be said that the track is not completely wet, difficult to find the limits of grip this morning. Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) inaugurates the gravel trap at turn 14, the second trickiest bend on the Sarthois route.

Adrian Fernandez (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Max Racing Team, #31) and Xavier Artigas (Honda, Leopard Racing, #43) collide at the entrance to the Esses Bleus and also put the track marshals to work.

As we passed the halfway point, Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) is still at the top of the timesheet, with a 1'54.887, ahead John mcphee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #17) and Romano Fenati (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Max Racing Team, #55).

gabriel rodrigo (Honda, Team Gresini Moto3, #2) manages to dethrone his compatriot a few minutes later, with a 1'53.933.

Niccolo Antonelli (KTM, Reale Avintia, #23) fails when braking at Garage Vert and veers into the gravel, without falling. Xavier Artigas (Honda, Leopard Racing, #43) also widens in the Dunlop and lands in the gravel, this is his second fall of the session.

There are 10 minutes left before the checkered flag is presented, and the raindrops are appearing. It's closer to Norman drizzle than to a flood, but it's enough to dampen the track. gabriel rodrigo (Honda, Team Gresini Moto3, #2) is still at the top of the standings, in 1'53.933, ahead of John mcphee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #17) and Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5)

Takuma Matsuyama, who joins the Moto3 category at Le Mans, adds his name to the statistics of drivers who crashed during this FP1, at turn 14 for his part.

https://twitter.com/MotoGP/status/1393106575120797698?s=20

Peter Acosta (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #37) seems to appreciate the turn 3 marshals and visits them once again during this session. Kaito Toba (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #27) follows suit and slides alongside him.

Lorenzo Fellon (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #20) does not give the marshals time to return to their posts and in turn hits the tarmac of turn 3, the entrance to the Dunlop chicane. It is then the turn of Roman Fenati (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Max Racing Team, #55) to rake the gravel of this same corner.

Darryn binder (KTM, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #40) is the next to test the quality of its protections, at turn 7. We are witnessing a festival of falls this morning. Maximilian Kofler (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #73) will also give his mechanics work, sliding at turn 11.

In the end, it is John mcphee (Honda, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #17) who did the best in these complicated conditions, in 1'53.294, ahead Peter Acosta (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #37) and Sergio Garcia (GasGas, Aspar Team Moto3, #11).

Andrea Migno (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #16) falls for the second time. It's already the 17th fall of the morning.

FP1 ranking of the French Moto3 Grand Prix at Le Mans:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com