Xavi Vierge 15th and Isaac Viñales 20th at Le Mans

Tech3 Racing Team rider Xavi Vierge produced a solid performance today at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France to meet the chequered flag in 15th marking a positive close to a challenging weekend. The young Spaniard kicked off his debut race at the legendary Bugatti Circuit from the 8th row of the grid and leapt forward when the lights went out.

He set into his rhythm and climbed up to 18th at just beyond the half way point and then he forced his way past Mattia Pasini a short distance later. Vierge quickly opened a gap to the rider behind and pulled away before eventually crossing the finish line in 15th. The result marks a rewarding end to a demanding weekend for the former CEV winner who now focuses on securing a consecutive points scoring result in Mugello.

On the other hand, Isaac Viñales determinedly completed the fifth round of the 2016 Moto2 World Championship in 20th after undertaking a relentless effort at the stop and go circuit. The class rookie began his 26-lap battle from right behind his teammate on the grid and after a typically frantic opening lap, Viñales set into his rhythm and started the fight.

By the mid point, he was running in 21st and he carried on pushing onwards as he moved in on the group in front. He maintained his pace and eventually finished in 20th, having successfully gained more valuable race experience.

Xavi Vierge
“We now finally have a satisfying result after what has been a challenging weekend for us. On Saturday I made a big step forward but we struggled in the qualifying and I couldn’t make the most of the new tyres, which we saved for the session, because I fell twice. However, today in the race my rhythm was very strong but starting from 22nd made things tricky. In the first few laps, I got stuck behind some other riders but once I moved past Wilairot, I increased my rhythm even more and then passed Pasini. In the end, my pace was actually the same as Syahrin who finished in 8th so this shows that we have the potential. Yet, for the next GP my objective is to improve my qualifying performance, which will obviously help me in the race. I must say thank you so much to the Tech3 team for the amazing job that they did yesterday because they repaired a bike in ten minutes which is very impressive and I’m sure next time will be better.”

Isaac Viñales
“Overall, I am not too happy about the result, even though I am thankful that I gathered some more experience. My rhythm wasn’t great and although my feeling with the Mistral was ok, I began to struggle more towards the end with the grip and turning the bike. This was a bit frustrating for me because I like this track and I hoped for a better result. Anyway, we will now focus on the next race at Mugello where hopefully we can end up in a higher position.”

Source: Tech3