Against all probability, Kawasaki Racing Team rider, Randy de Puniet, finished this afternoon’s MotoGP from Catalunya in fifth position: his best ever result in the premier class. Despite riding with an agonising knee injury, sustained last week at Mugello, and a shoulder strapped up after an earlier tumble in Le Mans, the 26-year-old Frenchman maintained a monumental pace, keeping many of the series’ usual front runners at bay.
The French Grand Prix ended in disappointment for Kawasaki rider, Randy de Puniet, when he crashed out on the eighth lap, having taken his first ever lead in a MotoGP race in front of his home crowd. After a difficult start from eighth on the grid, de Puniet was pushed down the order but soon fought back, ploughing his way through the field in the early laps to take a confident lead, much to the pleasure of his countrymen, who were cheering him around the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans.