#FRENCHGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Martin sprints to Saturday gold as Marc Marquez suffers DNF in Le Mans
As starts go, that was about as good as it gets from French GP Tissot Sprint winner Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), who didn’t miss a beat on a dramatic Saturday afternoon at a packed-out Le Mans. The #89 strolled to a fairly dominant 12-point haul as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) made it three Saturday podiums in the last three Grands Prix with a P2 finish. Just over a second covered the former title rivals, with 2026 World Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) picking up a bronze medal in P3, while 2025 World Champion Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) endured a nasty crash in the closing stages.
WHAT A START
From P8 on the grid, Martin got an absolute flyer to snatch the lead into Turn 4 after brilliantly swooping around the outside of teammate Bezzecchi, Bagnaia, and Marc Marquez through Turn 3, as polesitter Bagnaia slotted into an early P3. Home hero Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was a P4, signalling a good getaway from the Frenchman, with Marc Marquez losing three places on the opening lap – the reigning World Champion was P5 from the middle of the front row.
On Lap 2, the #93 was then picked off by an aggressive Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), and then at Turn 3 on Lap 3, Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) had a nibble too. And it was a bite that paid off. Suddenly, Marc Marquez was P7.
MARTIN COMFORTABLE TO THE FLAG, MM93 CRASHES
Lap 3 saw Bezzecchi make a mistake at Turn 7, which allowed Pecco to sweep past his compatriot into P2. However, at this stage, Martin had got his skates on. The 2024 World Champion was over a second up the road, as Acosta then shoved his way up to P4 past Quartararo. Having had a woeful start from P4, Fabio Di Giannantonio’s (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) Sprint ended prematurely with a crash at Turn 3 on Lap 5, with the Italian P14 at the time. Not what the Italian ordered from the Sprint menu.
Up front, Martin was keeping Pecco a second behind him, with Bezzecchi dropping to 1.1s behind the factory Ducati. Then came Acosta, a further second in arrears, with the battle for P5 bubbling away nicely between Quartararo, Mir, and Marc Marquez. The trio was six-tenths shy of Acosta. On Lap 9 of 13, Martin stretched his lead to 1.3s. A lap later, it was 1.4s – then 1.5s. And with Pecco 1.5s in front of Bezzecchi, it looked like the top three were set.
The order behind wasn’t, though, and huge drama unfolded for Marc Marquez on the penultimate lap at Turn 13. The #93 suffered a huge crash – the front-end folded, which he gathered back up by digging his knee in, but that then caused the rear-end to get out of shape. This movement then spat the Spaniard over the top and subsequently out of the Sprint in a nasty way. Whilst he was up on his feet, the reigning World Champion was diagnosed with a 5th metatarsal fracture on his right foot and has been declared unfit for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. He’ll head to Madrid to undergo surgery whilst there’ll be a further surgery on his shoulder which was already scheduled for after the Catalan GP but will now have that moved forward. It has also been confirmed that he’ll miss next week’s Catalan GP.
In less dramatic circumstances, it was a Saturday stroll to a 12-point haul for Martin, his second of the season, with Pecco and Bezzecchi picking up the silver and bronze medals. Acosta’s early moves helped him to finish P4, with Quartararo giving the French faithful something to cheer about with a gutsy P5.
Mir was a slender 0.2s away from Quartararo in P6, and just behind the top six battle was Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) in P7, Spanish GP winner Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) in P8, and rookie Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) in P9 as the Brazilian collects his first Sprint point – and his best result to date in MotoGP.
MOTOGP – RACE: Comeback King Martin produces Sunday magic to beat Bezzecchi in France.
All the blood, sweat, and tears. The injury woes of 2025. The not knowing if he’d ever return to the top step again. Now though, he’s done exactly that. Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), for the first time since the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix, emerged victorious on Sunday in Le Mans with a ridiculously impressive ride that saw the #89 reel in and overtake teammate Marco Bezzecchi in the closing stages. It was a day to remember for Aprilia because not only did they lock out the top two spots on the podium thanks to the top two in the championship, but Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) produced some more late Grand Prix magic to force his way onto the MotoGP podium for the first time.
THE START
Bezzecchi got the best launch of the riders from the front row and heading up to Turn 3, the lead was the Italian’s. Much to the delight of the home faithful, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was up to an early P2 as he and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) swapped paint coming out of Turn 4. Bagnaia lost ground from pole position, the Italian was P4, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) getting a much better launch than he did just under 24 hours ago – the Italian was P5 from the front row.
Lap 2 saw Spanish GP winner Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) crash out of the top 10, as Acosta attacked Quartararo. It was a move that stuck at Turn 11, as Acosta then locked his radar onto Bezzecchi. Lap 5 saw Pecco then pounce to demote the home hero to P4, and on that lap, the Italian set the fastest lap of the race – 0.2s quicker than leader Bezzecchi.
BUBBLING UP NICELY AT THE FRONT AS MARTIN BEGINS VICTORY PUSH
The chasers lost ground on the next lap, and it was clear Pecco had some pace in hand over Acosta. And sure enough, the #63 carved his way past the KTM star into P2. The gap to Bezzecchi? 0.9s. Meanwhile, a train of fire breathing thoroughbreds had formed, with Di Giannantonio and Tissot Sprint winner Martin now ahead of Quartararo. Ogura and Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) were next in line, but it was Martin vs Di Giannantonio on Lap 9. Eventually, after a couple of attempts at Turn 3 and then Turn 6, Martin got the attack done at Turn 7. But that battle saw the second group sit over a second and a half away from the top three.
The Grand Prix simmered a tad approaching the half way point, but intriguing was the word to describe what was going on at the front. Bezzecchi’s advantage was 0.6s over Pecco, with Acosta still lingering in P3. Martin’s pace was on par with the leaders, but the 2024 World Champion was 1.6s back – but the good news for the #89 was he had pulled 1.1s on Di Giannantonio.
BAGNAIA CRASHES
Then, a dose of drama was thrown into the mix. Bagnaia, seemingly comfortable in P2, then lost the front coming into Turn 3 on Lap 16 of 27. A disastrous end to a very promising weekend for Pecco. Thankfully, the Italian was OK physically, and looking more than OK too was Martin. Now in P3 after Pecco’s error, Martin was right in the victory hunt and on Lap 18, the Aprilia star dispatched Acosta.
MARTIN REELS IN BEZZECCHI, OGURA LAUNCHES ROSTRUM ATTACK
Now, it was Aprilia vs Aprilia. P1 vs P2 in the title race. Martin was 1.5s behind Bezzecchi but while we locked eyes on Mir lunging underneath Quartararo at Turn 3, the gap came down by half a second. On Lap 20, Bezzecchi led Martin by one second, with Acosta 0.7s back in P3.
At the beginning of Lap 2, the gap was 0.8s. Martin was reeling in his teammate, and another Aprilia rider was on the charge. Ogura. Di Giannantonio was shuffled down to P5 on Lap 21, and just before that, having moved into P6, Mir crashed out at Turn 11. Back at the front, and back to Ogura. The Japanese rider was 0.5s faster than Bezzecchi on Lap 21, and Acosta’s podium was under serious threat. Lap 23, Turn 3, Ogura made it an Aprilia 1-2-3. Could the #79 now claw his way into the victory fight? Well, if Martin engaged in battle with Bezzecchi, it would give him a chance. And with four laps to go, Martin was right on the rear wheel of his teammate after landing a 1:31.2, compared to Bezzecchi’s 1:31.4.
Bezzecchi was in trouble here, and so it proved. Martin, with three to go, made his move. What a class pass it was too. Turn 3, late on the brakes, job done. Martin led for the first time and it looked like Bezzecchi didn’t have anything in response. No counterattack was coming, as Martin pulled 0.7s clear. Instead of the win, Bezzecchi now had a real task to keep P3. Ogura was now just 0.7s away from the factory RS-GP, then 0.5s, as we entered the final lap of the Grand Prix. 0.6s was the gap splitting Martin and Bezzecchi, so a mistake-free closing lap would see Martin return to the top step. And guess what: that’s exactly what it was. For the first time since the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix, Jorge Martin would spray the bubbly from the top step of the podium.
Bezzecchi held off Ogura’s late pressure to earn 20 healthy points, but the Italian sees his championship lead come down to a single point after a mini sucker punch was handed to him by his teammate. And sure enough, in P3, Ogura secured a first MotoGP podium to become the first Japanese podium finisher since 2012. It’s been coming, now it’s arrived. What a day for Aprilia.
YOUR POINTS SCORERS IN FRANCE
A penultimate corner pass on the final lap saw Di Giannantonio overtake Acosta for P4 honours, which means the KTM rider had to settle for P5. Quartararo’s top weekend ended with a very solid P6 on home soil, and although P6s aren’t the results the Frenchman comes racing for, but given the circumstances, El Diablo will be pleased with that.
P7 went the way of Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), with Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) closing out the top 10 in Le Mans.
Johann Zarco’s (Castrol Honda LCR) home Grand Prix Sunday didn’t go as planned after Fernandez forced the Frenchman wide on Lap 1, leaving last year’s winner just inside the top 15. P11 was Zarco’s result in the end, as Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) picked up the final points on offer in France.
Today I’m satisfied but I was expecting another race today. I felt good on the bike in the morning but after some laps in the race I didn’t have the feeling to push more. The bike was moving a lot and the tire dropped. I tried to save my position on the track. 7th: but I’m not that happy. I prefer to overtake riders in a race!
Enea Bastianini – P7
Today was more difficult than yesterday. I was there fighting, but it was difficult to keep the pace. I made a mistake at Turn 9. I tried to catch the group, but I went wide and ended up crashing. After yesterday’s race, I was quite happy, so now it’s just a matter of continuing like this and improving race by race.
Diogo Moreira – NC
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in French.