Aleix Viu (Marinelli Sniper Team) earned pole position in the Moto3™ Junior World Championship at the French Le Mans circuit with a time of 1:43.082. On this occasion, the FIM CEV Repsol is sharing the stage with the MotoGP ™ World Championship as part of the HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France. Viu bettered Raúl Fernández (Angel Nieto Team) by 0.12 and dominated the two qualifying sessions. Alongside the two Spaniards will be Japanese rider Ai Ogura (Asia Talent Team) in third position.
The quickest times were set in the first qualifying session, with seven riders posting 1:43 laps along with Aleix Viu. This was the riders’ first contact with the Le Mans circuit for the only category racing this weekend, and they took advantage of good track conditions to post their best times of the day.
In the afternoon session Aleix Viu was once again the fastest rider, though he was unable to improve on his excellent first qualifying session time. Ai Ogura and Somkiat Chantra (AP Honda Racing Team) were second and third respectively, while Jeremy Alcoba (Junior Team Estrella Galicia 0,0), Manuel Pagliani (Leopard Junior) and Vicente Pérez (Reale Avintia Academy) were just a few thousandths away from improving on their morning times.
This is Aleix Viu’s second pole in the Moto3™ JWC after the one in Valencia, and he will be looking for a win to make up for the fall he suffered in the last round while he was leading the race. But he won’t have things all his own way, with Raul Fernández – the current leader of the category – and Ai Ogura next to him on the front row of the grid.
The time of the race on Saturday
Moto3™ (17 laps): 16.30 h
The starting grid
