out on the track."
It was a heartbreaking race
for the American riders, as
Joe Roberts crashed out while
challenging for the lead in on
lap four, and Cameron Beau-
bier, while running in what
would have been a career-
best sixth for the American
Racing Team, crashed out at
the treacherous turn three with
five laps remaining.
Gardner holds a one-point
lead in the standings, 89 to
Fernandez's 88, with Bez-
zecchi third on 72. Lowes'
DNF drops the early title
leader down to fourth on 66
points.
completed the podium as
title contender Sam Lowes
(Elf Marc VDS Racing Team)
suffered an early DNF.
"I am very happy to win
here at Le Mans," Fernan-
dez said. "It was a difficult
weekend, due to the weather
conditions. We will work
hard to maintain this form at
the coming contests. How-
ever, we must not forget to
remain calm, continue to do
our best and try to make as
few mistakes as possible.
We have to use our heads,
take things race by race and,
above all, continue to enjoy
ourselves every time we go
MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 5 / MAY 14-16, 2021
BUGATTI CIRCUIT / LE MANS, FRANCE
P66
Briefly...
the Spanish Grand Prix offered Rossi the
chance to try a host of new items. "We
modify the setting of suspension, we have
different forks, we change the weight bal-
ance of bike," he said on Friday. "We try
also a different carbon swingarm which is
good. All these things help us especially
in braking and in entry. It can bring more
speed in the corner without running wide
and I feel better on the bike." Rossi was
strong in wet conditions (he placed seventh
in a wet warm-up) and had respectable
pace in the dry, a big improvement from
his desperate Jerez race. His 11th place in
mixed conditions didn't suggest as much.
"The result is nothing special. But it re-
mains a better weekend, we confirmed the
improvement in the test in Jerez. I can fight
for stay in the top 10."
Takaaki Nakagami leads
teammate Marquez. He looked
on course for a podium but
dropped to seventh.
