Antonelli takes charge on Day 1

Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse), who was 20th in FP1, was the rider to beat on the opening day at the HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France, setting his quickest time of FP2 with two minutes to go. Despite a late crash in the session at Turn 11, second quickest in the lightweight class was Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia), with Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) rounding out the top three.

After a chilly morning in northern France, track temperatures were up and the lap times for most of the grid tumbled. Tony Arbolino (Marinelli Snipers Team) cemented P4 in the afternoon, improving his time but not improving his position, with World Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrustelGP) in fifth, jumping up one position in FP2.

Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0), who’ll start from the back of the grid on Sunday, was sixth quickest on the combined timesheets, improving his time on his final run of the day after finishing this morning’s session down in P15. Del Conca Gresini Moto3 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio was back on track after his big off this morning, the Italian ended P7 – importing track time for Giannantonio after completing just six laps in FP1.

Behind him on Friday was FP1 leader Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), who was one of only four riders who failed to improve their time in the afternoon, the Spaniard eighth quickest on the opening day in Le Mans. Jerez winner Philipp Oettl (Sudmetal Schedl GP Racing) confirmed his strong pace this weekend in P9, with Andrea Migno (Angel Nieto Team Moto3) rounding out the top ten.

Migno and rookie Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) crashed in the session – both were ok. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) and Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Skull Rider) also crashed, both were taken to the medical centre for check-ups. 

Moto3™ are back out on track for FP3 at 09:00 local time (GMT +2). Click here for the full results!