Leopard Racing’s Dennis Foggia will head into Moto3™ qualifying at the SHARK Grand Prix de France as the rider to beat thanks to his time of 1:41.680. The Italian didn’t need to improve on his impressive Friday form to maintain his advantage at the top of the timesheets, but he did manage to set the session’s quickest lap, just three-hundredths shy of his best effort.
Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) and Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) both improved on their times but remain in P2 and P3 respectively at the close of Free Practice in Le Mans.
The Rocket's grip over Le Mans hasn't slackened! ✊@dennisfoggia71 clean sweeps free practice! ????#Moto3 | #FrenchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/19dtqUKfaO
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) May 14, 2022
The Championship contenders make the cut
FP3 was all about getting yourself into the top 14 and securing automatic passage into Q2, and most of the lightweight class’ big names managed to do that. CFMoto duo Carlos Tatay and Xavier Artigas sit on either side of The Americas GP winner Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in the top six.
Andrea Migno took pole position at COTA and he’ll have the chance to earn another later this afternoon thanks to his P7. The Rivacold Snipers rider leads Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) on the timesheets. Championship leader Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) sat outside the Q2 places for the majority of the weekend, but he posted his fastest time of the weekend with just a few minutes remaining in the session to take a top 10.
Sterilgarda Max Racing duo Ayumu Sasaki and John McPhee will both compete in the battle for pole while Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power) and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) also secured top 14 finishes.
Some late rolls of the dice coming in as we enter the final minutes! ????#Moto3 | #FrenchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/rSrO4lkXYo
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) May 14, 2022
Who’s facing down the barrel of Q1?
A big highside at Turn 14 scuppered Deniz Öncü’s (Red Bull KTM Tech3) chances of claiming a Q2 place, and after a trip to the medical centre, he has been declared fit to participate in Q1. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) crashed twice during FP3 and he too narrowly misses out. Impressive substitute Jose Rueda (Rivacold Snipers Team) will fancy his chances of claiming a Q1 top four but he’ll have to contend with challenges from some more established Moto3™ names like Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power).
You can see how all of Saturday afternoon’s action unfolds from 12:35.