It was a tough race at Le Mans, even though Marc Marquez talent made it seem like it was easy. The reigning World Champion and Repsol Honda rider was at his best at the French GP. It was a victory of the best rider in MotoGP, and no one seems to be able to fight with him. As a result, Marquez victory is also the 300th for Honda in the premier class. That makes Honda the first manufacturer to hit that milestone.
But the French GP was hit by several incidents. The first of them was on the warm-up lap. Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Ducati) crashed and behind him, Joan Mir (Ecstar Suzuki) also crashed after seeing Abraham on the asphalt. Mir got back to the race finishing 16th and last, but Abraham didn’t.
As for the race, Marc Marquez didn’t waste his “pole position”. The Spaniard kept the lead during the first laps at Le Mans. But behind him, Ducati duo of Jack Miller and Danilo Petrucci were putting some pressure. Eventually, Miller made a move for the lead, but Marquez was back up in front a few moments later. From then on the Repsol Honda rider escaped and crossed the line with ease.
From the middle of the grid, two riders also got close to the front Ducati’s. Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha). Rossi was the first to reach the leading trio but had no rhythm. Dovizioso also showed up to this podium fight, but unlike Rossi, he did have the rhythm.
Dovizioso passed through Rossi, then through Petrucci and Miller. Rossi was suffering grip problems on his Yamaha and was out of the podium fight. Petrucci also suffered a bit but recovered his pace. Jack Miller suffered grip problems and left the fight for the podium positions for the Ducati factory riders.
With Dovizioso in second, Petrucci tried his best moves to overcome his teammate. Sometimes he did pass Dovizioso, but the MotoGP runner-up last season was back in second after each Petrucci attack. On the last lap, Petrucci continued to try and secure the second spot, but Dovizioso successfully defended his position. That way, Andrea Dovizioso crossed the line in second while Danilo Petrucci was third.
On the MotoGP championship, Marquez extends his lead with 95 points, Andrea Dovizioso has 87, and Joan Mir has 75 points.