Weather takes center stage during the Le Mans weekend

Friday, May 8th

An unusual sunshine accompanied the opening day at Le Mans, where the weekend got underway with Free Practice 1 on the French circuit.
Nicola Carraro headed out on track immediately, showing a good pace and completing an initial 12-lap long run in search of the best setup ahead of the afternoon Practice session. The Italian rider then finished the session with a second 4-lap stint, during which he set his best time.
A more gradual debut instead for Jesus Rios, who split the session into two runs of 8 and 6 laps to build confidence with this new circuit. The young Spaniard also managed to set his best lap in the second stint, showing steady progress.

In the afternoon, lap times dropped significantly: Rios stood out for both speed and consistency, improving by more than two seconds compared to the morning and securing direct access to Q2 ahead of Saturday’s qualifying. Carraro, although unable to clinch direct qualification, still lowered his FP1 benchmark by more than one second, confirming signs of progress and keeping strong chances of advancing through Q1.

Saturday, May 9th

Nicola Carraro’s progress continued throughout the weekend as, during FP2, he found another step forward both in terms of position and outright pace, moving significantly closer to the benchmark times at the front. The Italian rider managed to improve his best lap once again despite cooler track conditions compared to Friday afternoon.
FP2 proved more complicated for Jesus Rios instead: after a positive start, a technical issue forced him to end the session early, limiting him to only three completed laps.

Carraro then opened qualifying through Q1, where he put together a strong first run of four laps before the tire change. In the final minutes, he managed to improve his time attack further, despite some difficulties caused by traffic and slower riders in the decisive sector of the lap.

In Q2, it was Jesus Rios who led the team’s fight for the best grid position. The Spaniard set an excellent lap during his first run before the tire change, but once again a problem prevented him from returning to the track for a final attempt, forcing him into a slightly more difficult starting position ahead of the race.

Sunday, May 10th

After an entire weekend marked by sunshine and mild temperatures, race Sunday completely changed character as rain arrived shortly before the start. The race therefore got underway on a wet track, although the rain had already stopped, creating particularly tricky mixed conditions.

Race Direction decided to shorten the race distance by five laps, and the tire choice was inevitably wet tires. Both Snipers riders therefore aimed to make the most of the wet compound from the very beginning, managing the situation in anticipation of the track gradually drying towards the end.

Both Nicola Carraro and Jesus Rios made excellent starts, gaining several positions already during the opening lap. Rios immediately moved into the top 10, becoming involved in a close battle between ninth and twelfth position, while Carraro stayed close to the points zone after recovering more than five places, managing the chaotic opening stages—made difficult by numerous crashes—with composure.

Carraro’s opening laps showed steadily improving pace, but the extremely difficult conditions ultimately caught out the Italian rider, who crashed at the first chicane, a corner that had already proven critical for several riders during the race. The incident forced him to retire, fortunately without physical consequences.
A few laps later, during lap seven, Jesus Rios also crashed while trying to close the gap to the group ahead. The French Grand Prix therefore ended early for Team Snipers, but the overall balance of the weekend remains positive thanks to the progress shown throughout all sessions and the encouraging signs ahead of the next championship round.

Comments

Despite the crash, Nicola Carraro returned to the garage with positive feelings:
“It’s a real shame that this race only lasted three laps, because the feeling was good even though the track was extremely slippery due to the mixed conditions. I lost the front almost without realizing it. I’m very sorry not to have seen how this race could have developed.”

Jesus Rios heads to the Catalan GP taking many positives from this weekend at Le Mans despite the crash in the race:
“The race was going well and the bike felt fantastic. Despite the difficult track conditions, I had a really good feeling, especially under braking. I’m disappointed because I was having a great battle and recovering many positions. Now we put this race behind us and bring everything positive we found during this weekend to Barcelona!”