Andrea Iannone set third-quickest time in qualifying for the French GP at Le Mans. The 26-year-old Italian clocked a time of 1’32.469 on the second lap of the Q2 session and, despite a subsequent crash, will start Sunday’s race from the front row of the grid.
It will be a row 2 start on the other hand for Andrea Dovizioso, who was fifth with a time of 1’32.587. The 30-year-old notched up his best time on the first lap of his second run in Q2.
In the morning’s free practice session, Iannone was quickest with a time of 1’32.528, while Dovizioso placed eighth in 1’33.013. Both Ducati Team riders went through directly into Q2, which they tackled immediately after setting fourth and fifth place in the afternoon’s FP4 session.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’32.469 (3rd)
“It wasn’t an easy qualifying session and, even though I am happy for the front row, I’m not entirely satisfied because I was convinced I could have got second place. In any case, looking at the way things went, we even ran the risk of losing third place and luckily my time with the first tyre was enough to keep the front row slot. I am sure that with the second tyre I could have improved by a few tenths, but on the second exit unfortunately I had a problem with my bike. A light went on for the water pressure in the system and then I suddenly crashed. In any case I’m happy because we managed to get a positive result and I want to thank the guys in the team who did a great job after Jerez.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team # 04) – 1’32.587 (5th)
“I am quite pleased with the way the day went. In the afternoon we were able to improve my feeling with the bike by making another small step forward and, even though maybe we are still missing a bit over race pace, tomorrow I should be in a position to fight for the podium. It’s a pity I was not able to get on the front row in qualifying, but unfortunately in my final attempt I went a bit too long at Turn 13 because when I changed gear, the bike had a sudden reaction and now we have to try and understand the reason for this.”
