TAKA ON THIRD ROW AFTER TRICKY QUALIFYING DAY IN LE MANS

Takaaki Nakagami claimed 7th position on the starting grid after a dramatic day of qualifying for the French Grand Prix. A mixed bag of weather at Le Mans again ensured the premier class had to continually adapt to changing track conditions, but the LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider performed admirably to put himself at the front of the third row for tomorrow’s race.

Early rain meant riders were unable to improve their overnight times in FP3, making Taka’s top-10 position on Friday even more valuable. On a drying surface, the Japanese star demonstrated solid race pace by finishing eighth in FP4 and looked set for a front row start after moving into second in Q2 with just a couple of minutes remaining. But a late flurry of quick laps pushed him back into seventh, although he remains confident of his chances.