The Swiss rider established his competiveness from the word go as he set fastest time in practice and then raced up the leaderboard for second place in qualification. After starting in fifth place in the opening GP moto he needed six more laps to move forward to second place in a track where it was extremely difficult to pass and had to be content with that position as the leader was already several seconds clear. Moving quickly into second place in the second moto Arnaud matched the leader's pace for fifteen minutes until they came up on lapped riders when he lost contact to the defending champion and again had to be satisfied with second place. Second overall in the GP he remains securely second in the series standings, 45 points behind the leader and 52 ahead of the third-placeman.
French teammate Dylan Ferrandis showed grit and determination in his home GP as he defied a dislocated shoulder, the result of a crash during Saturday qualification, to maintain his fifth place in the series standings after finishing sixth in each GP moto for sixth overall in the GP.
American teenager Thomas Covington scored the best overall GP result of his rookie GP season as he charged to eleventh place overall after finishing twelfth in the opening moto and eleventh in race two as he becomes more and more acquainted with the GP tracks which are so different in character to those he is used to in his home country.
Tommy Searle, the CLS challenger in the MXGP class, continued his recovery from injury in March as he raced to sixth place in the second moto in France. He had appeared to be on his way to a similar result in race one until another rider rode into him and forced the Englishman to crash and eventually finish seventeenth.
Arnaud Tonus: “I tried to get very good starts but my first one was not the best, and when I got through to second position the leader was already too far ahead. The second start was better and I could stay with the leader for fifteen minutes, then I had some troubles with the lappers and made a few mistakes. I feel that I have a better speed now, and I showed in the second race that I can race with the champion; now I just need some small improvements to be even closer.”
Dylan Ferrandis: “On Saturday I had a good start in the qualifying race, but I crashed pretty hard and dislocated my shoulder; I was lucky that I could put it in place promptly and finish the race in seventeenth position. I was lucky not to damage the shoulder seriously and we’ll check it this week to know exactly the situation. I had an injection today and that helped me a lot, but I had no power in my left arm. My starts were not so bad, and to get twice a sixth position is pretty good in the circumstances.”
Thomas Covington: “It was really good here and I like the track this weekend; it was very tricky and I enjoyed it. It’s definitively my best overall weekend and my best overall GP finish so far. I’m pleased to be getting better results each weekend. I need some better starts and must keep working on my physical condition; maybe I can get some top five at the end of the season.”
Tommy Searle: “It was OK this weekend. In the first race I would have been sixth but Bobryshev came over on me and caused me to crash; that ruined my race. In the second moto I did finish sixth; I was a little away from the leaders but that was expected as I’ve only been back from injury for a few weeks and this track is a lot different to the ones on which I’ve been practicing. Each week we're make progress; I need to be stronger and stronger but I think that within a few weeks I will be back in front. The track was really difficult, I haven’t raced many GPs this year and racing on a track like this one with many uphills and downhills, rocks and ruts wasn’t easy.”