The Finnish rider adapts to changing weather conditions and sets the ninth fastest time overall from FP1 and FP2 on the opening day of the French Grand Prix.

The legendary Le Mans Circuit hosted the opening day of the final round of the 2020 FIM MotoE World Cup, the French Grand Prix, today. Avant Ajo MotoE and Niki Tuuli had a positive Friday, overcoming the mixed track conditions to place ninth on the combined Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 standings.

The fifth round of the electric motorcycle racing series started with a strong FP1 session for Tuuli, who took a significant step forward despite mixed track conditions due to early rain. The Finn dedicated 13 laps to improving his confidence and feeling when riding in the wet with the MotoE bike, something he had not done since last year. The Avant Ajo MotoE talent made steady progress throughout the practice and, on his penultimate attempt, stopped the clock at 1:55.743 for seventh place.

By the afternoon the track had almost completely dried up, except for damp patches that remained at some corners. Tuuli improved his morning times quickly and was amongst the fastest riders early on: his personal best of 1:44.870 was set on his sixth of 8 laps, putting him ninth in FP2 and overall.

E-Pole takes place tomorrow at 11:45 am, with the 7-lap first race of the weekend scheduled for 4:10 pm.

Results – FP1 & FP2
1. Mike Di Meglio 1:44.141
2. Alex De Angelis 1:44.182 +0.041
3. Mattia Casadei 1:44.436 +0.295
4. Xavier Simeon 1:44.471 +0.330
5. Matteo Ferrari 1:44.520 +0.379
9. Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo MotoE) 1:44.870 +0.729

66 NIKI TUULI

“I’m happy with the opening day of the French Grand Prix, as my feeling improved. In the morning, the track was in mixed conditions, so we couldn’t draw many conclusions from the first practice. Nevertheless, I felt pretty good. In the afternoon, the asphalt was dry, although there were still some small puddles around. I decided to push and I made improvements lap after lap. I’m satisfied overall and I believe that tomorrow we have the opportunity to set a solid fastest lap in E-Pole that will allow us to qualify well for the race.”