A tense 20-lap Moto3 grand prix kicked off Sunday’s race action at Le Mans, with poleman David Alonso narrowing Dani Holgado’s championship lead with his third win of the season.
Tech3 GasGas rider Holgado leaped Alonso off the line at the start and ran in the lead for the opening eight laps, before Intact GP’s Collin Veijer came through at the Turn 6 right-hander on the ninth tour.
Veijer’s stint at the front didn’t last long, as Holgado came through again at Turn 2 on the run up to the Dunlop chicane on lap 11.
An enraged David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) demoted Holgado briefly at the Turn 7 left on the same lap, but the Spaniard had been hit with a double long lap penalty for an earlier collision with Ricardo Rossi.
Munoz instantly served the first of those penalties and would later crash out of the race.
Holgado retook the lead when Munoz peeled off into the penalty lane, though a mistake at Turn 6 on lap 13 allowed Veijer back through again.
The pair would trade the lead twice more on lap 15 – when they touched going through Turn 1 – and lap 18, before Aspar’s Alonso jumped the pair of them at Turn 9 on the same tour.
Alonso resisted a retaliation from Holgado across the final few laps and got to the chequered flag 0.105 seconds clear of the Tech3 rider to reduce his championship lead to one point.
David Alonso, CFMOTO Aspar Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Veijer completed the podium from the sister Aspar bike of Joel Esteban and MT Helmets – MSI’s Ivan Ortola.
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard) was sixth despite two long lap penalties for irresponsible riding in practice, while Ryuesei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI), Jose Antonio Rueda (Ajo KTM), Tatsuki Suzuki (Intact GP) and Angel Piqueras (Leopard) rounded out the top 10.
Moto3 results:
| 1 |
D. Alonso CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team |
80 | CF MOTO | 20 | 147.7 | 25 | ||||
| 2 |  D. Holgado Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 |
96 | GASGAS | 20 | 0.105 | 147.6 | 20 | |||
| 3 |
C. Veijer Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP |
95 | Husqvarna | 20 | 0.137 | 147.6 | 16 | |||
| 4 |
J. Esteban CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team |
78 | CF MOTO | 20 | 0.234 | 147.6 | 13 | |||
| 5 |
I. Ortola MT Helmets — MSI |
48 | KTM | 20 | 0.136 | 147.6 | 11 | |||
| 6 |  A. Fernandez Leopard Racing |
31 | Honda | 20 | 0.185 | 147.6 | 10 | |||
| 7 |  R. Yamanaka MT Helmets — MSI |
6 | KTM | 20 | 0.161 | 147.6 | 9 | |||
| 8 |
J. Antonio Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
99 | KTM | 20 | 0.077 | 147.6 | 8 | |||
| 9 | T. Suzuki Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP |
24 | Husqvarna | 20 | 0.066 | 147.6 | 7 | |||
| 10 |
Á. Piqueras Leopard Racing |
36 | Honda | 20 | 1.062 | 147.5 | 6 | |||
| 11 |
L. Lunetta SIC58 Squadra Corse |
58 | Honda | 20 | 4.552 | 147.2 | 5 | |||
| 12 |
J. Roulstone Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 |
12 | GASGAS | 20 | 0.188 | 147.2 | 4 | |||
| 13 |  J. Kelso BOE Motorsports |
66 | KTM | 20 | 0.314 | 147.1 | 3 | |||
| 14 | T. Furusato Honda Team Asia |
72 | Honda | 20 | 3.559 | 146.9 | 2 | |||
| 15 |
D. Almansa Rivacold Snipers Team |
22 | Honda | 20 | 0.574 | 146.8 | 1 | |||
| 16 |
X. Zurutuza Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
85 | KTM | 20 | 1.925 | 146.7 | ||||
| 17 |  S. Nepa LEVELUP — MTA |
82 | KTM | 20 | 2.925 | 146.5 | ||||
| 18 |
N. Dettwiler CIP |
55 | KTM | 20 | 11.741 | 145.7 | ||||
| 19 |
N. Fabio LEVELUP — MTA |
10 | KTM | 20 | 0.858 | 145.6 | ||||
| 20 |
T. Buasri Honda Team Asia |
5 | Honda | 20 | 5.369 | 145.2 | ||||
| 21 |  J. Whatley MLav Racing |
70 | Honda | 20 | 13.619 | 144.3 | ||||
| dnf | D. Munoz BOE Motorsports |
64 | KTM | 16 | 4 Laps | 142.5 | Retirement | |||
| dnf | M. Bertelle Rivacold Snipers Team |
18 | Honda | 15 | 1 Lap | 147.2 | Retirement | |||
| dnf | S. Ogden MLav Racing |
19 | Honda | 10 | 5 Laps | 146.9 | Accident | |||
| dnf | R. Rossi CIP |
54 | KTM | 7 | 3 Laps | 147.0 | Accident | |||
| dnf |
F. Farioli SIC58 Squadra Corse |
7 | Honda | 1 | 6 Laps | 128.3 | Retirement |
Garcia triumphs in Moto2
In the 22-lap Moto2 grand prix, Sergio Garcia scored a second win of the 2024 season after dominating from the off at Le Mans.
The MT Helmets – MSI rider leaped into first off the line after poleman Aron Canet plummeted down the order when he botched the start.
Garcia instantly pulled a seven-tenth lead over American Racing’s Joe Roberts and would continue to extend his advantage to 3.174s come the chequered flag.
The battle for the final podium spots raged to the end, with Ai Ogura coming from 17th on the grid to complete an MT Helmets – MSI 1-2 ahead of Speed Up’s Alonso Lopez.
Lopez had been in second coming into the final lap before being passed by Ogura at Turn 9, and fended off Roberts by 0.060s on the run to the line.
It marked the first non-Kalex podium since the 2012 Valencia Moto2 GP, when Suter chassis occupied all three rostrum spots.
Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra was fifth from Canet, the Fantic Racing rider – carrying a fractured left ankle from a crash at Jerez – denied a heroic podium late on.
Fermin Aldeguer was seventh on the second Speed Up team bike from Marc VDS’ Tony Arbolino, Gresini’s Albert Arenas and Aspar’s Izan Guevara.
Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez had been an early podium contender but crashed out of that battle on lap six.
Garcia now leads the championship by seven points from Roberts, with Aldeguer 26 adrift in third.