MotoGP Le Mans: Le Mans again and again

Le Mans MotoGp 2021

It was a classic race at Le Mans. With mixed weather and not so easy track conditions. If the Moto2 riders were still lucky and were able to race on a dried track, the sky that moved over the MotoGP starting field looked darker and darker. Already on the grid you could guess what was about to happen. In round two it happened. It started to rain and the marshals waved the white flag. Flag to Flag. The sign for the MotoGP riders that they can change their bikes. The rain setup is needed, the track conditions are getting worse by the second. It becomes dangerous, because with two contact surfaces as large as credit cards, it is difficult not to risk a fall in the rain. The riders waited and turned into the pit lane only on the third lap. Shoulder to shoulder they now went to the bike change. It was tight and the fight for positions took place at speed 60kmh.

No wonder that mistakes happened under these conditions. Fabio Quartararo confused the pits and put his bike in the pits with his teammate. The Frenchman took a slight detour to get to his bike and was also penalized with a long-lap penalty. It was not the only long-lap penalty in this race. Jack Miller even had to go through the long-lap twice for exceeding the speed limit while entering the pit lane.

Even after the bike change, things did not calm down on the track. On the contrary, numerous crashes followed. Some riders, such as Marc Marquez crashed twice. The Honda factory rider was in a promising position and ended up in the gravel with a highsider. Marquez got back on his feet and tried to roll up the field from behind again. He overdid it and ended up in the gravel again. This time the race was over for the Honda rider. Alex Rins suffered a similar fate. The Suzuki rider also crashed and tried to take up the race again. For him, too, the chase to catch up ended in the gravel. The race was over. Definitely.

Shortly before the end of the race, the sky opened up and the track began to dry. At that moment came the hour of the MotoGP riders with medium wet tires, because the soft variant was dissolving more and more. The big tremor began with Jack Miller, because the Ducati factory rider was leading, but Johan Zarco was approaching with big steps and better tires. Lap after lap, the Australian’s lead shrank. The tension was palpable in the Ducati pit. In the end, Jack Miller won for the second time in a row and gave Ducati its second victory at Le Mans. Chapeau!

It was a race with a lot of tension and an uncertain outcome. A race as it seems to be typical in Le Mans.

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