Le Mans: Rain ends Asper Team victory chances

The French Grand Prix began with Sergio Gadea and Gábor Talmacsi battling for the lead, but with 60% of the race completed their hopes were turned around. The appearance of rain caused the appearance of the red flag, with wet weather changes rapidly made to every bike on the 125cc grid. Just a single lap would have led to the required distance having been completed, but instead it was left to a five lap abridged second race to decide the victor in France.
 
Bancaja Aspar's rookie rider Pere Tutusaus took points for the second consecutive race with a fantastic ride. After a difficult weekend the Spaniard had an amazing start to the second race and took eighth, eventually dropping four places but adding to his points tally.
 
Reigning World Champion Gábor Talmacsi knew that he could ride fast in the wet, and took the lead on the restart. However, a lack of grip on the rear end sent his bike to the asphalt, and Talmacsi was left out of the leading pack and settling for 14th.

Sergio Gadea had started from pole position, and had led the race until the inopportune appearance of the rain. He dropped down to tenth on the restart, but his bike stalled and pushed him to the tail end of the field in a further setback. Despite his misfortune, he had shown some strong pace throughout the weekend.
 
12th Pere Tutusaus: "I am very happy, because I didn't like the rain until four days ago. I felt comfortable and was able to take points, and for me the race split was the key moment. I was able to take off extremely fast, and was eighth without knowing anything about it! I tried to avoid being swamped by the rest of the field, and was able to overcome my nerves and keep my position. I've been in the points for the past two races, and every day the Aprilia is working better."
 
14th Gábor Talmacsi "I am disappointed, because I had a good plan and I was fast during the whole weekend. I tried to ride calmly throughout the race, but I made a mistake. I don't know what happened, but suddenly I lost grip. It might be because I slid into the corner more than at other parts of the circuit. Despite the crash, I was able to take points after rejoining the race. I feel good about the weekend up until now, because we took a step up and have become competitive again."
 
20th Sergio Gadea: "At the start of the race I went all out from the line, and felt that the pace I was imposing was good. As the laps ran down and the rain hit the track I started to feel less comfortable, and I nearly crashed on a number of occasions. Then we had the wet race, and I wanted to get a good start to recuperate positions. However, I dropped down to last place. Then I had some riders crash in front of me, and I wasn't able to do anything. The weekend has been a good one, and there is still a long way to go in the championship. I hope that we can continue on the right track when we get to Mugello."