DANNY KENT took full advantage of the wildcard he was given to compete at the French Moto3 Grand Prix with a top 10 finish.

He was beaten by just two seconds for the runner-up spot after a crash-filled 16-lap race at Le Mans.

Kent has recently split from the Kiefer Racing Moto2 team after a troubled start to the 2017 world championship campaign.

At the time he tweeted: "It's been a difficult period since joining the team and I don't feel I'm able to reach my potential so I've decided to step away."

The former Moto3 world champion, who grew up in Tetbury and went to Sir William Romney’s School, had been offered a way back to top level motor cycling by his former employers at Red Bull.

Initially, he took part in testing for the Red Bull team in Jerez, Spain when they wanted his valued opinion on their KTM RC250 GP bike being used in the world championship.

And he was also offered a wildcard entry at Le Mans by the team he rode for in both 2012 and 2014.

Whether the arrangement leads to a more permanent ride in Moto3 for Red Bull remains to be seen.

Kent finished 10th at Le Mans , following an initial red flag on the second scheduled lap caused by an oil spill.

Danny was among a large group of riders who fell in the incident, but thanks to great work by the team, his bike was fixed for the restart.

In a shortened 16-lap contest, Danny stuck with the second group, fighting for a place on the rostrum. After exchanging places on several occasions with teammate Bo Bendsneyder, he finished 10th.

“It was a fun race, although personally I’m a bit frustrated because I had the pace to get on the podium," said Kent.

“There was a large group of riders and I could have ended up in front of them.

“Maybe having spent a year and a half away from this (Moto3) class hurt me, and there were not many places at which to overtake. It is not easy for any rider to come back into a World Championship like Moto3.

“But it was not a bad weekend at all. The whole team have done a great job. Today they had to fix the bike after the crash on the first start, and it was quite badly damaged.

"Now it’s time to keep looking forward and wait for a new opportunity.”