Rookie Pini achieves phenomenal front row start in Le Mans qualifying, Muñoz strong sixth place
Rookie Guido Pini scored a real coup for the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP team in qualifying for the French Grand Prix at Le Mans: With an impressive last lap, the 17-year-old Italian secured himself the second place and a front row grid position. The team celebrated euphorically, as team-mate David Muñoz also qualified for an excellent starting position in Sunday's race with sixth place on the grid.
Guido Pini has been on a steep learning curve since the start of the season and is continuously turning this into strong results. After scoring two point finishes in recent races, the young Italian is now also aiming for a top 10 finish in France. Pini already laid the foundation for this on Friday in the free practice and qualified for Q2 in sixth position in the decisive practice session. In perfect conditions, he improved on his last flying lap of Q2 on Saturday afternoon to a time of 1:40.036, just 0.089s behind rookie pole-setter Maximo Quiles.
David Muñoz is also in top form at Le Mans. The Spaniard was fastest in practice on Friday afternoon and was considered one of the favourites for qualifying. At the decisive moment, he was just 0.411s off the lead, meaning that he will start the race from the second row of the grid in sixth place. The 18-year-old Muñoz aims to fight for the podium in the 20-lap thriller on Sunday from 11:00 (CEST).
Rain showers are possible at lunchtime for the race on the 4.19 km long circuit 200 km south-west of Paris - an additional tension factor for the Moto3 field, which has not yet raced in wet conditions this weekend. High tension is therefore guaranteed.
Results
FP1
1. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA - 1'40.882
2. Ryusei YAMANAKA/ JPN/ KTM – 1'41.000 (+0.118)
3. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ KTM – 1'41.243 (+0.361)
5. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'41.446 (+0.564)
8. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'41.578 (+0.696)
PR
1. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.236
2. Ryusei YAMANAKA/ JPN/ KTM – 1'40.341 (+0.105)
3. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'40.379 (+0.143)
6. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'40.484 (+0.248)
FP2
1. Joel KELSO/ AUS/ KTM – 1'39.885
2. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'40.026 (+0.141)
3. Alvaro CARPE/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.085 (+0.200)
10.David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.805 (+0.920)
12.Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'40.985 (+1.100)
Q2
1. Maximo QUILES/ SPA/ KTM – 1'39.947
2. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'40.036 (+0.089)
3. Joel KELSO/ AUS/ KTM – 1'40.045 (+0.098)
6. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.358 (+0.411)
