Italian fever in Moto3 at Le Mans

The Moto3 race at Le Mans saw an all Italian podium with Romano Fenati claiming his first win of the year ahead of Enea Bastianini and with Pecco Bagnaia scoring the first podium of his career the Tricolori dominated the rostrum.

Fenati has had a difficult start to the season but once again showed that when he has his mind focussed he’s a very dangerous rider in the Moto3 class. Having been put to the back of the grid in Argentina and having some poor races however the challenge of finding consistency, and qualifying speed, is still something that he needs to find if he’s to be a genuine contender.

His VR|46 team boss, Valentino Rossi, weighed in with his views on the race.

“Today was a great day,” said a smiling Rossi. “Wake up, sun, and sincerely, a good temperature. Sincerely the atmosphere in the track was great, I don’t remember a Le Mans like this, full of people around. It means also that MotoGP is growing a lot. I enjoyed the Moto3 race very much, because Romano won and for us is very important, but also the other riders of the Academy are very fast, Pecco on the podium, also Antonelli and Migno. Sincerely, I don’t want to say I was emotional, but I enjoy a lot the race.”

For Bagnaia making the rostrum marked a key milestone in his career. Last year he was fast but had plenty of bad luck so it’s key that he can now use this to build some momentum.

“Yes, I am delighted with my first podium,” said the Aspar rider. “I had been waiting a while so I am very happy and I am sure that from now on everything will come more easily. It is a really important result for us because the team and Mahindra have been working so hard for a long time. All that effort was rewarded last Sunday. We have done a good job from the start of the season and this first podium could have easily happened at Losail or Austin. Luckily we kept our objective within sight and here is our reward.”