Track action stayed dry for the Moto3™ riders and it was a late attack from Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) that saw the Spaniard take Day 1 honours with a 1:41.846. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP) topped Practice 1 and improved his times further in Practice 2 to fall just short of the top spot by 0.137s, with Xavier Artigas (CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) enjoying Day 1 in Le Mans as he rounded out the top 3.
Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was the first to make an improvement on his P1 lap time as the Spaniard flew to the top of the combined standings with seventeen minutes to go. The final ten minutes soon came around and fast laps began to fly in from the likes of Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI). Sasaki then stamped his authority and retook the lead of the session with two back-to-back flyers. Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team) soon followed as he pulled a lap out of nowhere to join Sasaki and Holgado at the top. The chequered flag came out and it was looking like it was all decided until Masia took 1.6s out of his P1 time to take his Leopard machine to the top.
Better late than never! ????@jaume_masia pinches top spot on his last flying lap! ????#FrenchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/rAm8WM8wjK
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) May 12, 2023
It was a difficult day for the Championship leader Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) who found himself in the gravel trap in both practice sessions, but salvaged P7 with a late time attack. Romano Fenati put his name back into the mix once again as he finished the session in P4 ahead of Round 1 victor Daniel Holgado who rounded out the top 5.
Moto3™ action continues on Saturday, make sure not to miss any of the action with Practice 3 at 08:40 and qualifying at 12:50 local time (GMT +1).
Top 10
1. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) - 1:41.846
2. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) +0.137
3. Xavier Artigas (CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) +0.318
4. Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team) +0.346
5. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) +0.413
6. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +0.496
7. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) +0.645
8. Joel Kelso (CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) +0.664
9. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +0.699
10. Filippo Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3) +0.817