It was a happy day for France
as Johann Zarco (Pramac
Ducati) ran down compatriot Fa-
bio Quartararo in the late stages
of the race to take second with
pole position holder Quartararo
completing the podium in third.
The flag-to-flag race saw
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda)
emerge from the pits as the race
leader, the first time he'd been
in that position since returning to
action in Portugal. It didn't last
long as he crashed out at the
final corner with 22 laps remain-
ing. He rejoined the action but
later crashed terminally in turn
six on lap 18.
25 RAUL FERNANDEZ
1ST MOTO2
"I don't like these condi ons too much
but they are the same for everyone,"
Raul Fernandez said. "It was really
difficult to ride out there, especially
through the second sector but, any-
way, I'm really happy. My team gave
me the tools and the support I needed
because I was nervous on the grid.
A second victory in my first season: I
don't have many words!"
MYOWNRACE
44 POL ESPAGARO
8TH MOTOGP
"It was a very complicated race today,"
said Pol Espagaro. "If you're strong in
one condi on but not the other in Le
Mans it can be like this, because o en
the race is in the middle of condi ons.
Today we had really good speed in
the dry, we showed it throughout the
weekend in the dry sessions where
we were in the top five. I'm not happy
with the result of the race because we
struggled in the wet, but on the other
hand you're sa sfied to finish a crazy
race like this. I think our result would
have been much be er in the dry, but
this is how it is."
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 20 MAY 18, 2021 P61
MARQUEZ
OVERCOMPENSATING
On Saturday morning, Marc Marquez
topped his first MotoGP session
since he suffered a career-threat-
ening injury at last year's Spanish
Grand Prix. The wet conditions ex-
perienced in FP3 were kinder to the
eight-time champion, still suffering
from a lack of upper-body strength.
"When I speak about muscles, I
mean all the arm is close to 80
percent. But some are 50 percent.
It depends on the movement," he
said of the recovery of his right arm
and shoulder. "I'm struggling more,
especially the back of the shoul-
der. If you remember, two winters
ago I had an operation on the right
shoulder. That injury still is not 100
percent recovered because there
was some damage to a nerve in the
shoulder."
Briefly...
