Garzo takes maiden MotoE™ pole in Le Mans
A new lap record and in uncharacteristic hot conditions? The stage is set for Round 2!
Friday, 10 May 2024
Under sunny skies in France, Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) has finally clinched his first pole position in the FiM Enel MotoE™ World Championship, having been one of the fastest in the field since this debut but missing that last stat. He did it in style too, with a new lap record of 1:39.995 making him the only rider to break into the 1:39s, but the chasing pack certainly weren’t far behind. Sophomore sensation Nicholas Spinelli (Tech3 E-Racing) tails the pole sitter by just 0.031 of a second for his second front row start of the season, and completing the front row in third is season opener polesitter Eric Granado (LCR E-Team).
In an extremely close Q2 session that saw the top seven riders split by just 0.312 of a second, Garzo managed to just keep his rivals at bay with that first-ever 1:39 MotoE™ lap of the Le Mans circuit. With Garzo on a run of four consecutive second place finishes stretching from the last round of 2023 to the first round of 2024, he has the best possible start to bring that streak to an end and take his first victory since Germany last season.
Behind, reigning World Champion and 2024 championship leader Mattia Casadei (LCR E-Team) managed to do a fine job of completing the qualifying recovery, by progressing through from Q1 and then taking 4th in Q2. He starts alongside Oscar Gutierrez (Axxis-MSI) who managed to improve his career-best qualifying one place to 5th and all at a venue he’s never been to before.
In the closing stages of Q1 there was some luckless drama for session-topper Kevin Zannoni (Openbank Aspar Team) who was the innocent party in a crash for Alessio Finello (Felo Gresini MotoE). Finello, who lost the front through Le Mans’ fast Turn 1, unfortunately collided with Zannoni’s machine as he went through the chicane. With no time to prepare a spare bike, Zannoni’s well-earned Q2 place was rendered almost immaterial as he was unable to take part in the session. Zannoni will line up 10th for tomorrow’s races. Teammate and 2019 World Cup Winner Matteo Ferrari’s (Felo Gresini Team) difficult start to the season continues with the Italian qualifying 14th after an issue midway through Q1 slowed his progress.
Practice and qualifying complete, there’s just one more thing to do for MotoE™ and that’s race! We’ll see you for Race 1 tomorrow at 12:15 UTC+2 and Race 2 at 16:10 UTC+2!
