2012 Le Mans Moto3 Race Result: Cool Heads Prevail In Wet War Of Attrition

Results and summary of the Moto3 race at Le Mans:

Louis Rossi has taken his maiden victory in Moto3, after riding a sensible race and staying on as others crashed ahead of him. With the other favorites crashing out, and despite a crash himself, Sandro Cortese now extends his championship lead.

The race was dominated by one factor, the soaking rain, causing problems even before the red lights went out, as Efren Vazquez, 2nd on the grid and Jack Miller both had to head into the pits with technical problems, though Miller would head back out again. After the start, a group quickly broke away, containing Maverick Vinales, Hector Faubel, Zulfahmi Khairuddin, Miguel Oliveria and Luis Salom, while Louis Rossi sat a little way behind them. But the conditions proved treacherous, catching out the riders further down the field first, but the front runners also would not prove to be immune.

Hector Faubel took the lead early, but he sat at the head of a group of five, the gaps very small between them. After the halfway stage, a curse appeared to descend on anyone who led the race, with first Faubel crashing out of the lead, then Oliveira, who had taken over from Faubel, and finally Maverick Vinales, who had inherited the lead from Oliveira. The crashes left Rossi in the lead, with a massive gap of well over 20 second over 2nd place man Sandro Cortese, much to the delight of the crowd.

Both Rossi and Cortese looked like running sensible races, Rossi for victory, Cortese for the championship, but the conditions finally got the better of Cortese, crashing out at the chicane with just two laps to go. The German was luckier than his title rivals, managing to keep his KTM running, and quickly grabbing the clutch to rejoin the race, though now down in 6th. The points he would accumulate would take him 12 points clear at the top of the championship table.

Rossi emerged as the victor, a sensible and extraordinarily popular winner for the local man - literally, he hails from the town of Le Mans itself - while Alberto Moncayo saved the honor of the Aspar team taking 2nd, and Alex Rins, riding with a broken finger, held off the challenge of Niccolo Antonelli to take 3rd, and the young Spaniard's first podium.

Results: