14/05/2023

Lukas Tulovic scores strong eleventh place in Le Mans, Senna Agius takes P19

In the action-packed Moto2 race at Le Mans, LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP rider Lukas Tulovic was hot on the heels of the top 10 and took home another five world championship points. But Australian Senna Agius also made progress in his learning curve and crossed the French finish line in 19th place.

Sunshine, a new spectator record, and a large portion of action - that's what the fifth race of the season of the Moto2 World Championship at the traditional French circuit of Le Mans had to offer. Only two laps after the start, there was a violent crash that eventually led to the race being red-flagged on lap three. A short time later, the sprint race, now reduced to 14 laps, was restarted.

The experienced Lukas Tulovic could not get out of the chaos and so the German made a solid start, as before in race 1. Coming from position 15, he immediately gained a few positions and finally lined up in position 13 to then make his way up to position eleven. The 22-year-old rode his race to a safe finish and was pleased with five more World Championship points and many new learnings and insights.

The young Australian, Senna Agius, showed a strong race in which he fought for the points with the likes of Jeremy Alcoba, Dennis Foggia and pole setter Sam Lowes. The 17-year-old then lost ground towards the final sprint and eventually slipped back to 19th position. Nevertheless, he returns to the Junior GP with valuable experience, where he will be looking to defend his lead in Valencia next week.

The LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team would like to thank Senna Agius for his professional efforts and hopes to welcome their protégé, Darryn Binder, back to their ranks at Mugello, from the 09th -11th of June 2023.

Results

Moto2-Race
1. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX
2. Filip SALAC/ CZE/ KALEX – (+0.620)
3. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ Boscoscuro – (+1.537)
11. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX – (+11.588)
19. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – (+22.615)

Moto2 Championship
1. Tony ARBOLINO / ITA / 99
2. Pedro ACOSTA / SPA / 74
3. Alonso LOPEZ / SPA / 61
17. Darryn BINDER / RSA / 10
20. Lukas TULOVIC / GER / 6

Lukas Tulovic

P11 - (+11.588)
Moto2 World Championship 2023 - P20 - 6 Points

"After Jerez, the goal was to master the next step and we have now done that. We had a better start to the weekend, qualified better, and therefore simply created a better starting position for the race. I was able to learn a lot from top riders like Ai Ogura this weekend and I'm happy with the pace I was able to set. The top 10 is not far away. I was even faster in some of the flowing sections and got closer towards the end of the race, but I think I can do better on the brakes. We still have to work on the setting here and there, but overall we put a good bike on the track and I was able to ride a good race. "

Senna Agius

P19 - (+22.615)

"It was a tough race, especially in the last five laps as I didn't have much left to give. I was struggling at the end but my lap times in the race weren't bad and I would like to impriovemy consistency in the future in general. The weekend has been full of learning and I take many things with me to Valencia and maybe be better when opportunities come up in the future. Many thanks to the team for letting me be here this weekend."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"Lukas has given us a lot of pleasure this weekend. On Saturday he made it into Q2 for the first time and today he was able to make something of it. In the race he was always close to the top-10, and his lap times were also very appealing. It would even have been enough for a bit further towards the front. But we are also satisfied with this result and we and Lukas can build on this performance. So, he has to continue like this and keep fighting. Finally, a big thanks to his crew, who did a very good job after yesterday's crash. Of course, the same goes for today.
On the other hand, we also saw a clear improvement with Senna, even if the lap times were a bit inconsistent over the course of the weekend. But that's normal for a rookie. Still, there were generally good lap times that underline his potential. I think Senna learned a lot this weekend again, which I'm sure will help him next weekend in Valencia. We are super happy with the way he is approaching things. Senna is very ambitious and always wants more, which is great, but overall, we're on a good way with him. Until the next race, we have a few weeks break, in which Darryn will hopefully recover enough to be fit again for Mugello. We miss him very much and look forward to his return soon. And we also hope that he will then be able to match his Austin performance straight away. Then it will certainly be a pleasing comeback from him."

French GP - Moto2

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