10/05/2026

Moto3 duo shows fighting spirit in a rain-soaked French Grand Prix in Le Mans

In a race held under extremely difficult conditions, David Almansa secured eighth place, earning more crucial points for himself and the team, while for David Muñoz, the fifth race of the season was effectively over after just three turns.

During the nearly two-week break following the Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain, David Muñoz and David Almansa arrived at in Le Mans for the Grand Prix of France in better physical condition. The two Spaniards’ outstanding performances at their home race raised hopes for more impressive results.

And so, the weekend began at the historic Circuit Bugatti, about 200 km southwest of Paris. Under ideal conditions on Friday, both riders demonstrated their potential, culminating in a commanding performance in the afternoon’s Practice session. David Muñoz set the fastest time, while David Almansa finished a hair’s breadth behind his teammate in second place.

In Saturday's qualifying, held under glorious sunshine, David Muñoz secured a strong starting position for the race with P5, placing him on the second row of the grid. Almansa started from 13th place on the fifth row of the grid on Sunday.

As is so often the case at Le Mans, the weather once again played a decisive role. After several glorious spring days, a rain front moved in during the night from Saturday to Sunday, and the expected rain began to fall shortly before starting time at 11:00 a.m. The race was classified as a wet race, and the entire grid took to the track on rain tires with a wet-weather setup, with the race shortened to 13 laps.

After a strong start, David Muñoz had a minor slip while braking into the turn three, which had no serious consequences. However, his race bike wouldn't start right away. Trailing far behind, the 19-year-old from Seville chased the pack, hoping that the numerous crashes would help him finish in the points.

Teammate David Almansa put in a solid, flawless performance, benefited from a few dropouts, and crossed the finish line in eighth place.

From Le Mans, the action moves straight on to Barcelona, where the next Grand Prix will take place this coming weekend just outside the vibrant capital of Catalonia.

Moto3™ Race Classification (13 Laps):
1 Maximo QUILES / SPA / CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team / KTM / 24´41.640
2 Adrian FERNANDEZ / SPA / Leopard Racing / Honda / +1.888
3 Matteo BERTELLE / ITA / LEVEL UP – MTA / KTM / +4.227
…
8 #22 David ALMANSA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / +20.893
18 #64 #64 David MUÑOZ / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / +95.800

Moto3™ World Standings:
1 Maximo QUILES / SPA / KTM / 115
2 Adrian FERNANDEZ / SPA / KTM / 69
3 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / KTM / 53
…
8 #22 David ALMANSA / SPA / KTM / 41
13 #64 David MUÑOZ / SPA / KTM / 22
22 #88 Marcos URIARTE / SPA / KTM / 2

Moto3™ Team Standings:
1 CFMOTO Aspar Team 163
2 Leopard Racing 115
3 Red Bull KTM Ajo / 82
…
5 LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / 65

David Almansa

Race: P8 +11.601
Moto3 World Championship 2026: P8 - 41 Points

«It was really tricky out there today. But I always gave it 100 percent, even though I didn’t have the best feeling for the bike. Above all, I had trouble with turning in some corners and going fast there. There were a lot of crashes that led to yellow flag periods, so I decided not to take any unnecessary risks, because finishing the race would earn me a good haul of points for the championship. But I had a few moments myself. That’s why I’m glad I brought the bike safely to the finish line. On the other hand, it was an important race for me, where I learned a lot for the future, especially for the next sessions in wet conditions. We gathered good information for that. In my opinion, eight place with good points is well-deserved. Thanks to the entire team and see you in a few days in Catalonia.»

David Muñoz

Race: P3 +2.009
Moto3 World Championship 2026: P13 - 22 Points

«We had a bit of bad luck today because of my crash in turn three. But that’s just how it is - Le Mans is always a challenge weather-wise, and even more so in the rain. Still, I feel bad for the team. But I’m happy with the work we’ve done, and we’ll keep it up. We’ll be back in action next week at Montmeló. A big thank you to everyone!»

Peter Öttl

Teammanager

«On the second race weekend following the injury-related break of our riders, we had every reason to hope for another step up in performance from our two Davids at Le Mans. They proved that very impressively on Friday afternoon by taking first and second place in Practice. They couldn’t have done any better. However, we may not have made the best strategic decisions in qualifying. We could have gotten more out of it. But we were well aware of the great potential of our two riders. On race day, however, the question was what the weather would be like, and as predicted, it started to rain shortly before the race. So, there was a big question mark over how such a race would ultimately turn out.»

«David Muñoz got off to a good start, but unfortunately crashed without warning in turn three, and it took him a long time to get back on track to re-join the race. Still, hats off to his determination to finish the race from such a hopeless position. He acted very wisely, as he had anticipated many crashes. Finishing in 18th place means his strategy didn’t quite pay off. Nevertheless, his performance deserves a lot of praise. David Almansa rode a very solid race after starting from 15th place. He wasn’t feeling particularly well, so we’re very happy that he finished the race under very difficult conditions and scored some important points. We know that both of our riders have much greater potential. That’s why we’re already looking forward to next week in Barcelona, where we’ll have the next opportunity to prove it.»

#FrenchGP 2026

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