MotoGP

And three for Bastianini at Le Mans

Enea Bastianini took his third victory in MotoGP after a race full of twists and turns; Fabio Quartararo concluded the event just off the podium but scored big points overall.

Published on 15/05/2022 à 14:45

Tom Morsellino

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And three for Bastianini at Le Mans

Enea Bastianini made everyone agree this Sunday at the Bugatti circuit by snatching her third success of the year (and MotoGP). The Italian deprived his compatriot Francesco Bagnaia of the trophy to win ahead of Jack Miller and Aleix Espargaro.

However, it was the two official Ducati riders, Miller and Bagnaia, who got the best start. But that was not the case fabio quartararo who was quickly pushed back to eighth place at the first score. The Frenchman then embarked on a comeback. 

Up front, the fight initially raged between Miller and Bagnaia, but after three laps, the latter took the lead to try to widen the gap. In third position, Enea Bastianini was cautious before making a decisive attack on Miller after 11 laps. 

Bagnaia seemed destined for a second victory in a row, but it was without counting on Bastianini who was determined not to stop there. After making the junction, the Gresini driver only had to take advantage of an error from his rival at Garage Vert to take control with seven laps remaining. If Bagnaia managed to get back on the track in front of Miller, he made a mistake at the Raccordement corner a few moments later, losing very big points overall. 

Bastianini and Miller then went it alone in their own corner while Aleix Espargaro, then third, had to contain Quartararo's attacks. The Frenchman tried everything to take the advantage... in vain. With the power of the RS-GP coupled with the Catalan's late braking, the world champion had to settle for fourth place. 

Johann Zarco, also the author of a delicate start, came up from 11e place to finish the race in fifth place after defeating Marc Marquez less than 10 laps from the checkered flag.  

Takaaki Nakagami lifts the second Honda in the standings to seventh position ahead of Brad Binder who had to tame his RC16 without one of its wings. The South African is the only KTM rider to finish. Luca Marini and Maverick Viñales complete the Top 10. 

Among the other losers of the day were the two Suzuki representatives, both of whom made mistakes while fighting for the podium. Rins crashed spectacularly after shooting straight into the first corner. Jorge Martin also fell and leaves once again Le Mans with a zero on the counter. In the Tech 3 clan, Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez ended the French weekend with a fall. 

In the provisional classification, Quartararo still leads the way with 102 points and four lengths ahead of A. Espargaro and eight over Bastianini. Bagnaia has had a very bad operation since he is now in seventh position with 54 points, almost half of Quartararo… 

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Tom Morsellino

Journalist and MotoGP reporter.

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