Sky Racing Team VR46‰Ûªs Romano Fenati topped the podium at the Moto3 Grand Prix of France at Le Mans on Sunday to give him, and KTM their first win of the 2015 season.
The Italian racer was a major contender right from the start of the 24-lap race, which was round five of the 2015 Moto3 World Championship. He won the race by just 0.122 ahead of fellow Italians Enea Bastianini and Francesco Bagnaia in what was one of the tightest finishes so far this season.
The race was always going to be interesting after grid positions were decided after only one lap in qualifying on Saturday, when rain started very early into the session.
Fenati is a fighter and he was in contention right from the second lap. Apart from some jockeying for positions at the front of the field near the end of the race, the Italian held the lead for most of the race.
He managed to put a gap between him and his pursuers between laps seven and nine but Bastianini and the young French rider Fabio Quartararo were on his tail the whole time. Quartararo made an untimely exit in lap 18 setting up a four-way battle between Fenati, Bastianini, Bagnaia and Nicolo Antonelli for the available podium places. But Fenati fought them off and crossed the line to take his first win of the season.
‰ÛÏThe start of the season was very difficult but we have worked hard and today we got the victory. The bike was perfect and the tire was also okay. I am really happy because today we‰Ûªve proved a lot.‰Û
