Bagnaia, Baldassarri lead the troops to France; Italians set for close battle
Le Mans, 15 May 2018: Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) was in unstoppable form at the Circuito de Jerez, closing the gap between him and Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) to just nine points, with the gap between the top three in the standings just ten points. Will it be the two Italians battling it out at Le Mans in the Moto3™ race?
Turn the clocks back to almost a year ago, and it was another Italian, Franco Morbidelli, who took victory on French soil. However, Bagnaia was his closest challenger on that day, in only his fifth Moto2™ start – a track it seems the future Alma Pramac Racing rider gets on well with.
Baldassarri will have something to say about it though, especially if he can carry his blistering Spanish form into northern France. Although Le Mans is a track the 21-year-old has yet to score points at in the intermediate class, like he’s said himself after his Jerez win, Baldassarri has grown this year and with a victory already under his belt, confidence on his side of the garage will be sky high.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had a great weekend in Jerez – in more ways than one – as he looks to mount a serious title challenge this year. The Portuguese rider put pen to paper on a KTM Tech 3 MotoGP™ deal for 2019, while on track Oliveira crossed the line second after starting P14 on the grid. Is a fourth podium of the year – and a first win – on the cards for Oliveira at Le Mans?
It’s not just the three Championship leaders who will have a say in France though. Argentina winner Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team), who lies fourth in the overall standings, was fifth at Le Mans last year. Meanwhile, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) will need to bounce back after his Jerez crash. He finished just off podium at Le Mans last year in fourth, but could it be at least one better in 2018?
Risk vs reward in Moto3™
After three of the biggest names expected to contend for this year’s crown scored a 0 last time out, Aron Canet (EG 0,0), Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) and Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) will all be out for points and glory at Le Mans. And the man who now finds himself in the driving seat and was once again a dark horse at the front in Jerez? Argentina GP winner Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP).
Like on the last lap of the Spanish GP when the Italian said he stayed sensible thinking of the points, Bezzecchi is now in a position to do that again as others jostle to get back on the podium or the top step. But equally, the VR46 Academy rider knows he has the advantage – and with it, less pressure.
For Canet, of course, the fight back towards the front will be much more difficult – with the EG 0,0 rider now starting from the back of the grid as a penalty following the Jerez pile up. Will he keep his cool and fight through like those before him have done in the lightweight class? Or will the risk vs reward ratio be much harder to judge? For Martin and Bastianini, on the other hand, the goal will be simple: win. One of their key title rivals is racing from the back and the opportunity to score is a big one.
Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) is the man who took that opportunity last time out, with a perfect ride under pressure to take his first ever GP win. That, too, could play a role – with his confidence sure to be sky high. That’s also true of rookie Alonso Lopez (EG 0,0) who, despite a late penalty of dropping one position due to exceeding track limits, crossed the line in third. Le Mans is another track he knows well from the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Championship.
Source: motogp.com
