Francesco Bagnaia extended his Moto2 championship lead to 25 points after winning the French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The Sky VR46 rider proved too strong for Alex Marquez after a race-long duel and with nearest title rival Lorenzo Baldassarri crashing out, the MotoGP-bound youngster now has a race win in hand at the top of the standings.
The race already appeared to be swinging Bagnaia’s way before a wheel had even turned with second-fastest qualifier Xavi Vierge failing to make it out of the pit-lane before the start due to a fuel pressure problem. The Dynavolt team successfully fixed the Kalex machine but the Spaniard was forced to start from the back of the grid as a result.
Without Vierge to worry about, Bagnaia led every lap of the Grand Prix despite constant pressure from Marquez, the Marc VDS rider ultimately fading in the closing stages. Marquez’s team-mate Joan Mir also rode superbly to ride the best race of his rookie season so far, taking a comfortable third for his maiden Moto2 podium finish.
Marcel Schrotter finished fourth while Vierge produced an inspired performance to finish right on the tail of his team-mate in fifth from 35th on the grid, beating KTM’s Miguel Oliveira in the closing laps. Romano Fenati scored his first points of 2018 in seventh ahead of leading Frenchman Fabio Quartararo while Brad Binder and Forward Suter’s Stefano Manzi rounding out the top ten.
Moto2 HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France: (Result)
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