Tony Arbolino put a tough first lap behind him to stage a stirring comeback at Le Mans while Filip Salac produced a heroic 12^th after hurting his right wrist on Saturday.

• Conditions were considerably cooler on Sunday than the rest of the weekend as Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac raced in track temperatures of 31 degrees.
• A stunning, noisy crowd of 297,471 were in attendance over the weekend on the French GP, which included Sunday’s 22-lap Moto2 race. This was a new weekend record for the Le Mans circuit.

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 8^th

• Starting 10^th, Tony got a bad launch off the line, meaning he dropped many positions in the race’s first lap and started lap 2 in 17^th.
• But the Italian resolved to not give in and showed real grit as he climbed the order, passing 9 riders to finish 8^th. Another big positive was his rhythm mid-race was very similar to the fight for the podium.
• Tony remains 13^th in the World Championship after five races with 26 points.

“I felt as quick as I did last year when I was scoring podiums”

“That was such a good race. It was a shame about the start. I didn’t start well at all because I had a small problem with the clutch. But from there I was gaining positions lap by lap and got into a really good rhythm. I was feeling so fast. I even felt as quick as I did last year when I was scoring podiums. So that was such a great thing. The bike was working so well. The guys have been working like mad in the past weeks so I can tell you now that hard work pays off. That means a lot to me and I think our moment is about to come!”

/// FILIP SALAC, 12^th

• An unfortunate collision with another rider after qualifying tweaked Filip’s right wrist, injuring the joint. But after a morning fitness check, he was passed fit to race.
• Starting 9^th, the 22-year old had a steady first lap and sat 12^th. And despite feeling excruciating pain from his wrist in the closing laps, the Czech rider heroically maintained a strong pace to score 4 important points for 12^th.
• Filip is now 17^th in the World Championship with 10 points.

“Then in the second part I was struggling with the arm”

“It was a very tough race. Already on the sighting lap in the last corners I was suffering a lot. I had a good start to the race but then in the second part I was struggling with the arm. I’m happy. The last five laps I was close to coming into the box because the amount of pain I was feeling was a disaster. But I’m happy that I was able to start and they passed me fit. I want to say a big thank you to the doctors and also the team for repairing the bike after the crash yesterday. They kept believing in me and we scored four points at the end of it, which is much better than zero! It’s time for a short rest but our eyes are already on the next one!”