More from a press release issued by Aprilia Racing:

Aprilia Racing writes a new page of history with a podium lockout in Le Mans. Jorge Martin wins his first race on the RS-GP in a comeback ride, Marco Bezzecchi second. Trackhouse MotoGP Team’s Ai Ogura completes a historic all-Aprilia podium for the first time in top class.

The weekend on the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit ended with a historic result for Aprilia Racing as they achieve their first podium lockout in MotoGP. 

After starting from the seventh spot on the grid, Jorge Martín was protagonist of an extraordinary comeback ride which allowed him to take his first victory with Aprilia Racing at no less than 588 days from his last MotoGP win (Mandalika 2024). Martín closed out the weekend with a brace – winning the sprint race and the long race – thereby tying the result achieved in Le Mans in 2024. Furthermore, the result today is his ninth win in the top class and his first without starting from the front two rows.

Marco Bezzecchi finished second after riding a solid and intelligent race, rounding out the Aprilia factory team’s one-two. This is Bezzecchi’s fifth consecutive podium since the beginning of the season, making him the first rider to achieve this feat since 2015 (a record previously set by Valentino Rossi).

Ai Ogura also put in an outstanding performance. The Trackhouse MotoGP Team rider finished the race third, rounding out a historic, all-Aprilia podium.

This is Aprilia Racing’s first podium lockout in MotoGP, as well as their fourth brace in the top class for the factory team (since Montmeló 2023, Goîania 2026, and COTA 2026) and their seventh consecutive podium in top class. With today’s success, Aprilia Racing now lies at 306 wins in World Championship Motorcycle Racing.

Jorge Martin: “I am truly happy. At the start, I didn’t think I’d be able to battle for the win, but I never let up. Aprilia is giving me what I need and my confidence is growing day by day. Now it is important to continue working in this direction to improve even more.”

Marco Bezzecchi: “It was a good weekend overall, despite the difficulties. I’m pleased because I took a spot on the front row in qualifying and finished on the podium in the sprint race and in the long race. I tried to stay focused and to ride without making mistakes. I gave one hundred percent, but Jorge had a little more.”

Massimo Rivola – Aprilia CEO: “It was a historic day with three Aprilias on the podium for the first time. It is particularly thrilling to see Jorge so strong here in Le Mans, where exactly one year ago, he thought he might be leaving us, and it’s also great to see Marco so competitive and mature. And then, seeing Ai’s podium is also a relief after what happened in Austin. Noale’s racing division is doing a truly extraordinary job and I think this is proper recognition for a working team led so admirably by Fabiano Sterlacchini.”

More from a press release issued by Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing:

Di Giannantonio is fourth in Le Mans and confirms his Top3 in the World Standing. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team ends the French GP in fourth place with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who confirms his Top3 place in the World Standing. Franco Morbidelli is fourteenth.

The French GP ends on a positive note for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, which secures the fourth place with Fabio Di Giannantonio in Sunday’s race: he’s the best Ducati rider at the finish line and confirms his Top3 place in the World Standing. Franco Morbidelli recovers some positions, and he is fourteenth at the chequered flag.

Di Giannantonio – who started from the front row – had a solid race and he was in the podium fight right from the opening laps. Fabio showed a good pace during all the 27 laps playing again a key role with great overtakes. The rider from Rome crossed the finish line in fourth place, confirming himself as the best Ducati rider at the end of the French GP. With today’s result, Di Giannantonio is in Top3 in the World Standing with 84 points.

It was a challenging Sunday for Morbidelli, who had a difficult start from the sixth row: lap after lap, Franco managed to recover some position with a little comeback in the final stages of the race. The Italian Brazilian rider crossed the finish line in fourteenth place after dropping one position in the final laps. With the result of the French GP, Morbidelli is fifteenth in the World Standing with 27 points.

The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is back on track this week for the Catalunya GP, which will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya from 15^th to 17^th May.

FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO: “I am very happy with the work of my team and mine, because we did the maximum today. In the race, we tried to keep the change we did this morning and it’s always difficult to confirm it in the few laps of the warm up. But the guys did an incredible job, and this helped me a lot in the race. At the start, I realized I was struggling more than the riders at the front, so I would have given the 120% to stay with them. So, I decided to manage a bit and try to do the maximum in terms of consistency. Overall, I am happy, we lost some points in the championship, but we confirm the third place. In Jerez test we worked well to try to fill the gap and here in Le Mans we took the best direction for us, but there’s still some work to do because today we were only fourth.”

FRANCO MORBIDELLI: “Today, I couldn’t be fast as I wanted and I was locked in the traffic far behind. Overall, we’re still struggling to manage the new package, but the positive note is that we completed the race getting some points and we collected some important information. Laps and data can show more the problems; this is important and what we need to keep improving. We continue our work and I am sure we will find a way to be back at the front.”

PABLO NIETO: “The Le Mans weekend was positive, I think we are working very well. With Diggia, we secured the fourth place in today’s race, it’s a pity just for the start of yesterday’s Sprint. But in Qualifying, we were fourth and we proved to play always key roles, that is the most important thing. Of course, when you’re not on the podium, it’s a bit bittersweet, but we must say that we did a great job. With Franky, we work to find the perfect feeling, because he deserves to be more in front. But I think that we found something that can be good for the next race in Barcelona. We keep working in this direction.”

More from a press release issued by KTM:

Top five again for Acosta as Red Bull KTM sign-off French MotoGP.

Round five of 2026 MotoGP circulated the popular site of Le Mans and in front of another sold-out crowd of more than 112,000 spectators on Sunday and over 300,000 for the Grand Prix. Pedro Acosta was the highest ranked KTM RC16 racer with 5th position.

Highlights and key moments from race day at Le Mans:

• Pedro Acosta pushes the limits with a Grand Prix podium in reach and closes to within 1 point of the world championship top three after Le Mans
• Enea Bastianini logs his second highest race finish of 2026 with 7th place in France and two KTM RC16s post top ten results
• Grand Prix points in Moto3™ for the KTM GP Academy with Valentin Perrone in P12 and Brian Uriarte in P15 after both riders crash in a soaked, shortened race and remounted to reach the flag

The weather shifted for race day at the 39th French Grand Prix at Le Mans and the 4.1km Bugatti circuit was cooler, cloudier and with the constant threat of showers. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing started the 27-laps on Sunday afternoon with Pedro Acosta 4th on the grid and Brad Binder in 20th. Red Bull KTM Tech3 watched Enea Bastianini launch from 13th and Jonas Folger, replacing Maverick Viñales for his first Grand Prix outing in three years, in 21st.

Acosta repeated his attacking and proactive approach shown in Saturday’s Sprint (where he classified 4th) to make his presence felt inside the top three in the opening laps. The Spaniard then maintained his pace while trying to fight off attention from pursuers that lasted until the final corners. Pedro was able to confirm P5 for his third top five result of the season – less than three seconds from the win – and brings him to within one point of 3rd place in the world championship table.

Bastianini had a busy grand prix with close company in mid-pack. He was able to pull free of the rider chasing him in 8th, and his standing of 7th represents his third top ten finish in a row. Folger completed the race distance in 16th while Binder charged back to the edge of the first ten runners before losing traction into Turn 7 with six laps to go.

The Grand Prix of Catalunya at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will happen next weekend for round six.

Pedro Acosta, 5th and 4th in the championship: “We didn’t manage the tires like the others. It’s clear we need to improve a few things but I’m happy for my best weekend in Le Mans so far. Also happy with my start; that was quite nice, and also the first 10-12 laps. The second 10, the rear dropped. It looks like the bike is better than we had in Jerez and I’m happy to be back near the front again.”

Brad Binder, DNF and 13th in the championship: “I locked the front wheel going into turn 7 and the change of direction. It was a fast crash. I braked a bit later and with a bit more pressure. It was just too much. Today I was a lot faster but not where I need to be. The positive is that this morning in warm-up I was quicker and in the race also [than Saturday]. I felt like I was on my way forward. Everything felt easier.”

Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Difficult to be really happy about the results today even if a 5th position and 7th are quite positive. The podium was not far away. The gap to the top was quite small and we definitely made steps compared to last year. Of course, the competition is so close in MotoGP so it is time to analyze the weekend well and the work done and to focus on our weak areas. So, the top five for Pedro and the top seven for Enea is good…but we want more. Brad’s race as well, until the crash, also gave us hope for more progress. We have to thank Jonas for his solid work. He hasn’t been on a GP bike much and we appreciated his professionalism.”

More from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:

Fabio Quartararo Pushes to P6 in French GP as Álex Rins Takes P12.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo had a superb start to the 27-lap Grand Prix of France. It proved key to him securing sixth place. Álex Rins had the opposite happen to him. He had ups and downs during the race but still finished in P12.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo had the fans in Le Mans cheering him on as he rode to a solid sixth place in the Grand Prix of France. Teammate Álex Rins emerged from a full-on battle with multiple rivals in P12.

Quartararo, sporting a special Le Mans livery, started from P5 and launched to P2 in a matter of a few corners. He was riding both aggressively and defensively but had to let Pedro Acosta through at the end of lap 2. Four more rivals passed El Diablo over the next 8 laps. With Francesco Bagnaia crashing out on lap 16 and Joan Mir on lap 20, Quartararo crossed the finish line in P6, 7.756s from first.

Rins started his 150th premier class race from P11 but fell back on the opening lap. As Alex Marquez crashed out and Diogo Moreira dropped down the order, the number 42 was in P17 by lap 3. He spent the remainder of the race battling with the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP teammates and Franco Morbidelli. Multiple DNFs by other rivals had Rins take the chequered flag in P12, 32.343s from the winner.

Today’s results see Quartararo in 16th place in the championship standings with 26 points. Rins is in 19th with 7 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are in 10th position in the team classifications with 33 points, and Yamaha is fifth in the constructor rankings with 29 points.

The team will now directly travel to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain for the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalunya, held next week from 15-17 May.

Fabio Quartararo: “We had to be really smooth on braking, but that’s also were I can make the difference. I think today was the first race in a long time that I felt like this. I could push myself at 100%, and I think that was quite nice, especially on the opening lap. Everything was more close, it was easier to overtake, and I could feel the limit better, so yeah, it was nice. Let’s see what happens at other track layouts.”

Alex Rins: “It was really tough. In the middle of the race, I couldn’t engage the right gear. Though it resolved itself later on, it cost me some positions. It‘s a shame the race weekend ended like this after a good Friday. Now we will focus on Barcelona.”

Massimo Meregalli – Team Director: “It’s been a GP of two tales for us again. Starting with the positive: Fabio made the decision to go with the soft front tyre, aiming to exploit it on the opening lap to get as much towards the front as possible. This tyre choice kept us on the edge of our seats as we were afraid the tyre would drop, but in the end Fabio made it work all the way to the end. He got the maximum out of our package today, and this sixth place is a very encouraging result for him and the team. Álex, on the other hand, had a difficult outing again. He had some ups and downs throughout the race. We will analyse all the data as we prepare for next week’s Catalan GP.”

More from a press release issued by KTM Tech3:

Bastianini brings home seventh for Tech3 at French Grand Prix.

Red Bull KTM Tech3 bagged solid points on home soil in Round 5 of the 2026 MotoGP™ World Championship at Le Mans, with composed performances from both sides of the garage.

Enea Bastianini produced a strong charge through the field in Sunday’s 27-lap Grand Prix of France to secure seventh place, while team-mate Jonas Folger delivered a steady ride to finish just outside the points in sixteenth.

Both Tech3 riders made strong starts, each gaining a position during the opening lap. Bastianini quickly worked his way into the Top Ten with a decisive move, before an early crash in the pack promoted him to ninth.

As the race settled, the Italian found his rhythm and began to hunt down Joan Mir having already gained five places. With a tightly packed group battling ahead, the Italian capitalised on the fight to reduce the gap further.

Meanwhile, Folger kept a calm approach, moving up to P18 as further incidents promoted the #94 rider up the field.

Now running in eighth, Bastianini continued to apply pressure as Mir and Fabio Quartararo battled for sixth. A crash for Mir in the closing stages handed ‘La Bestia’ seventh and a further incident promoted Folger to P16 – rounding out a collected ride from the German after an early crash in Saturday’s Sprint.

A solid result for Red Bull KTM Tech3 in front of the home crowd at Le Mans sees Bastianini hold tenth in the standings, with the team sitting eighth – tied on 39 points with LCR Honda – as the championship heads to Barcelona next week (15-17 May).

Enea Bastianini: “It was a good comeback today. Yesterday I crashed twice, so the main goal was just to recover positions and bring the bike home. In the end, seventh isn’t bad, but I expected a bit more.

“With the soft rear tyre, it was difficult to push. There was a lot of movement, and for me it’s hard to manage that instability. Especially at the end of the race, I wasn’t as fast as I usually am. Still, it’s a good result for the team, so I’m happy with that. It’s not easy, because the competition is very strong, but we know the areas that we need to work on. On my side, I need to keep working on qualifying – I’ve improved a bit, but we still need more.”

Jonas Folger: “It was a tough race, but the goal was to complete the distance and keep learning. I made good progress up to qualifying, but in the race I couldn’t match that pace and struggled with comfort and physical fatigue, especially in my left shoulder.

“Overall, the weekend was still better than expected. I came in with a focus on understanding the bike, but after yesterday’s crash I lacked some confidence and today it was full focus on getting the laps in and finishing. I want to say thank you to the Tech3 guys for being so patient and giving me the room to improve at such a high level.”

Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “Well, a positive Sunday here for Red Bull KTM Tech3. We knew Bastianini had the pace to do a strong weekend. Unfortunately, we somehow missed the mark a little bit in qualifying, but starting 14th on the grid and finishing in P7 is obviously a great race. To me this just confirms Enea is in good shape at the moment so we can look ahead to Barcelona with a lot of confidence.

“On the other side of the garage, we’re happy with Jonas’ performance. Nobody can really understand how tough it is to jump back on a MotoGP bike after so long, but it was a consistent race today. He didn’t make any mistakes and got close to the points, so thank you, Jonas, for your help. Now the whole team is going to pack everything and move to Barcelona for the race next weekend.”

More from a press release issued by BK8 Gresini:

Fermin remontada, Alex out on lap 2.

• RACE DAY

FERMIN ALDEGUER 9º

ALEX MARQUEZ NC

• STANDINGS

ALEX MARQUEZ 8º (55 points)

FERMIN ALDEGUER 14º (27 points)

FERMIN ALDEGUER #54: “Considering how we started the weekend, finishing with this result is definitely very positive. In the race, maybe I could have done a little more, but starting so far back forced us into a different strategy because of the tyre choice. The soft front tyre allowed us to make up a lot of positions, but in the final third of the race we no longer had enough grip to try and attack Raul Fernandez.”

ALEX MARQUEZ #73: “I probably took Turn 3 a bit too slowly because I was worried the front tyre was still not fully up to temperature, and then I applied slightly too much throttle in Turn 4 and lost the front. A stupid mistake on my part, but fortunately I’m fine. It’s great to have Barcelona coming up very soon so we can make up for this race.”

More from a press release issued by Honda HRC:

Tenth in trying French GP for Marini, Mir crashes while chasing top five. 

Joan Mir looked to make the most of a dry race day in Le Mans, once again fighting for top Honda honours with Luca Marini salvaging tenth from a complicated weekend.

With cooler temperatures predicted and the threat of rain always on the horizon as the MotoGP World Championship field lined up on the grid, Luca Marini elected to run the soft front tyre. This choice allowed the #10 to make up a handful of positions off the start, but as the ambient temperatures increased the Italian switched to conservation mode as his tyre life began to fade. Despite lacking front stability, Marini still pushed until the very end to catch Aldeguer for ninth place and ended the 27-lap race just 0.1s back.

Tenth place moves Marini to 33 World Championship points, six behind Bastianini and the top ten overall.

Starting from sixth on the grid, Joan Mir immediately made his presence known as he put pressure on the front runners. Resuming his race-long battle with the likes of Quartararo from Saturday, the #36 stayed locked into the battle for the top five as he traded places with the home hero and Ogura for multiple laps. Biding his time, Mir kept the pressure on Quartararo and slipped past into sixth with eight laps remaining. Unfortunately, a heavy fall would follow on the next lap, ending Mir’s race and resulting in a laceration which required stitches to his right hand at the circuit medical centre.

Now barely a few days rest between the French and the Catalan GP, Round 6 starting at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday, May 15.

Luca Marini: “A big pity today, my front tyre choice was the wrong one – who was expecting the sun in the race?! It was difficult to arrive at the end because there was a lot of movement by the end, on the other hand with the hard at the start of the race was on the limit because it was cold before the sun arrived. It’s positive that we finished tenth and still got some points after a weekend with ups and downs, but it’s not what we want anymore. There’s work to be done and in this race, we struggled more with race pace than other rounds this year.”

Joan Mir: “Not the way we wanted to finish a really strong weekend for us because I think a top five result was there at the end. It was a crash I was not expecting. I had the hard front, able to stay behind Fabio safely, but when I passed him I had to be very aggressive to keep heat in the tyre. Under straight braking I lost the front early and I suffered a very hard crash, and I leave with a couple of stitches in my hand. Overall I am OK which is the most important thing.”

More from a press release issued by Castrol Honda LCR:

• Determined to fight for the best possible result, the Frenchman faced some difficulties after the opening laps.
• In order to avoid crashing after a contact with another rider, he ran slightly wide and lost positions, forcing him to recover ground once again.
• In the end, he managed to stay focused, avoid mistakes, and cross the line in 11th place, scoring points and gathering valuable information ahead of next week’s race.
   

 

 

 

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More from a press release issued by Pro Honda LCR:

Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira crashed during Sunday’s Grand Prix in Le Mans.

• Starting from 18th on the grid and after scoring points in the Sprint, Moreira was determined to fight back and make a comeback on French soil.
• While battling for a top-10 position, the rider ran slightly wide and ended up in the gravel, fortunately without consequences.
• Despite today’s result, Moreira had a solid weekend, learning session after session and gathering valuable experience and information.
   

 

Diogo Moreira DNF: “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.”

 

 

 

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More from a press release issued by Ducati Lenovo:

Francesco Bagnaia and the Ducati Lenovo Team forced into early retirement in the French Grand Prix due to a crash. 

The Ducati Lenovo Team completed the Grand Prix of France at Le Mans. Francesco Bagnaia, after an encouraging performance, crashed out while running in second place.

Following a less-than-perfect start from pole position, Bagnaia found himself in fifth place four corners into the race. Pecco managed to make his way up to second position — which he took on lap seven — before trying to bridge the gap to then-leader Bezzecchi. At the start of lap sixteen, however, while less than a second behind his rival, he tucked the front at turn three.

As the fifth Grand Prix of the season draws to a close, Marc Márquez is seventh in the championship standings with 57 points. Bagnaia is ninth, 14 points behind his teammate. The Ducati Lenovo Team is fifth in the teams’ standings (100 points), while Ducati sits second in the constructors’ championship (128 points).

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action already this Friday, May 15th, for the opening day of action of the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalunya at Montmeló.

 

 

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – DNF: “The weekend overall was a positive one: we started strongly and worked well, and we were fast in every session while improving constantly. We were in the podium battle today despite a small issue at the start, but then we encountered a minor setback that made me lose confidence with the front-end. I still tried to push and maintain the pace, but the front tucked. These things can happen. We have a clear idea of what we need to work on and we’ll do so ahead of the upcoming races.”

Jorge Martin won the MotoGP World Championship race Sunday at Le Mans, in France. Riding his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26 on Michelin control tires, the Spaniard won the 27-lap race by 0.477 second.

His teammate, Marco Bezzecchi was the runner-up.

Ai Ogura placed third on his Aprilia Trackhouse RS-GP26.

Fabio Di Giannantonio crossed the finish line fourth on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26.

Pedro Acosta took fifth on his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16. 

Polesitter, Francesco Bagnaia crashed his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26.

Marco Bezzecchi leads the championship with 128 points, 1 ahead of Jorge Martin who has 127 points. Fabio Di Giannantonio is third with 84 points.

More from a press release issued by MotoGP:

Comeback King Martin produces Sunday magic to beat Bezzecchi in France. The #89 reels in and passes his teammate and title rival as Ogura clinches a debut MotoGP podium to hand Aprilia a podium lockout at Le Mans.

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.

NEXT STOP: BARCELONA

We barely have time to catch our breath before MotoGP is back on track, as a trip to Barcelona beckons for Round 6 next weekend. See you there. 

• MotoGP French GP results! 

Izan Guevara won the shortened FIM Moto2 World Championship race Sunday at Le Mans, in France. Riding his BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Boscoscuro on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard won the 9-lap race by 0.566 second.

Manuel Gonzalez was the runner-up on his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex. 

Ivan Ortola was third on his QJMOTOR – El Motorista – MSI Kalex.

Alonso Lopez finished fourth on his ITALJET Gresini Kalex.

David Alonso took fifth on his CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team Kalex.

American Joe Roberts finished Sunday’s race 8th on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.

Manuel Gonzalez leads the championship with 79.5 points, 9.5 ahead of Izan Guevara who has 70 points. Senna Agius is third with 59 points.

More from a press release issued by MotoGP:

Guevara earns Le Mans honours in red-flagged Moto2 dash. The polesitter beats Gonzalez in the nine-lap sprint as Ortola produces a stunning comeback to grab P3. 

Pole position to victory. Not a bad weekend at the Le Mans office then for Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) as the Spaniard fended off second place Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) to climb into P2 in the title chase – one place behind the latter. In what was a red-flagged, shortened Moto2 encounter, third place went the way of Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – El Motorista – MSI) after the sophomore unravelled a phenomenal comeback from P14 on the grid.

With the rain disappearing for the time being and the track drying out, every rider opted to start on slicks. From a debut pole position, Guevara got a perfect getaway to collect the holeshot, with championship leader Gonzalez earning an early P2 from the middle of the second row. Drama unfolded for Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) on the opening lap after the Spaniard – who started from P2 – suffered a highside on the exit of Turn 7 to see his race end early.

So at the end of Lap 1, it was Guevara leading Gonzalez, Filip Salač (OnlyFans American Racing Team) kept hold of P3, with Barry Baltus (REDS Fantic Racing) also holding position in P4. It was then P2 for Salač before the red flags were waved due to Jorge Navarro’s (KLINT Racing Team) crash at the final corner. The Spaniard was up on his feet, but the race was stopped because of safety conditions.

So, with the additional stoppage, the restart would be a nine-lap race, with original grid positions set. And there was good news in the Aspar camp, because they were able to fix Holgado’s bike and get him out of pit lane with 15 seconds remaining.

Right, it was time to launch off the line again. And from the get-go, there was drama as Salač and Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing Team) got out of shape into the opening chicane, while at Turn 6, Baltus’ race ended – and the Belgian wasn’t happy with someone.

Guevera, meanwhile, stayed out of trouble again and raced to a 0.9s lead as Holgado and David Alonso, the Aspar teammates, battled hard on the opening lap as Holgado went from P2 on the grid to P9.

More drama. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Daniel Muñoz (Italtrans Racing Team) were in the gravel together on Lap 2 at Turn 6, as Celestino Vietti (Folladore SpeedRS Team) was handed a Long Lap penalty for causing a crash with Baltus. The Italian went from P5 to P9.

On Lap 5 of 9, Guevara’s lead was 1.1s, down from 1.3s as Gonzalez and Ortola began to turn the pace up a notch. But it wasn’t looking like enough. Gonzalez dropped Ortola and chased Guevara solo, but the latter responded and kept his title rival at bay.

0.9s was the gap heading onto the final lap, and for the first time this season, Guevara clinched a classy victory, with Boscoscuro defeating Kalex for the first time in 2026. Gonzalez ended the race 0.5s away from his compatriot to retain his championship lead, with Ortola coming from P14 to bag a first podium of the season.

Alonso Lopez (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) and an injured Alonso rounded out the top five in the shortened dash to the flag, with Vietti recovering to P6. Agius’ victory run ended, it was P7 for the Australian in Le Mans, as OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Joe Roberts and teammate Salač closed out the top nine. Aron Canet’s (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) P10 signalled his best result of the year, while Holgado had to settle for P11.

Heading to Catalonia next weekend, Gonzalez leads Guevara by 9.5 points, with Agius now 20.5 points away in P3. 

Moto2 French GP results!