Bezzechi celebrates at milestone Le Mans

Only 13 riders finished the historic 1000th grand prix in Le Mans, France, but it was Mooney VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzechi (pictured, below) who put together an incredible race to celebrate his first dry-weather race win by almost five seconds.

And while a five-second victory might sound like a processional affair, the 2023 French Grand Prix was anything but. The returning Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) got the holeshot from the middle of the front row, as Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) slotted in behind him from fourth on the grid, with pole man Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) in third.

After a strong showing in practice, but a crash on the medium front tyre in Saturday’s Sprint race, the Aussie opted for the soft front tyre in the 27-lap GP and eased past Marquez on lap three to take the lead.

Behind him, a fast-starting Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) felt he had the pace to run at the front and passed Luca Marini (VR46 Mooney Ducati) for fourth on lap five before pushing through on Bagnaia a couple of corners later. But the pair came together on the exit as they both searched for the same line, resulting in both crashing heavily.

Further back, Marini lost the front of his Ducati GP22 but dug his elbow and knee in to try and save it. And just as it looked as if he would, he found himself slowing on the racing line and he got clattered into by the chasing Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati), sprawling the pair of them across the circuit in a collision they were both lucky to escape unharmed.

The unfolding drama meant it was now a race of four riders at the front. It was still Miller from Marquez with Bezzechi and Sprint-race winner Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati) in hot pursuit. Sensing he had the pace to win, an impatient Bezzechi pushed past Marquez on lap 10, forcing the Spaniard wide and allowing Martin through too, though he was forced to drop one position a lap later with the work to do all over again.

It didn’t take him long, the 24-year-old finding his way to the front of the field just one lap later, relegating Miller to second with Marquez back up to third. And by the start of lap 13, Bezzechi had a one-second advantage over the chasing pack as Miller’s front-tyre choice had him dropping, by now down to fourth.

With 10 laps left to run, Bezzechi was two seconds clear of Marquez who was doing his best to fend off Martin and his rapidly approaching Prima Pramac teammate Johann Zarco who, along with rookie Augusto Fernandez (GasGas Tech3), had also found a way past Miller.

Miller’s Red Bull KTM teammate, Brad Binder, who finished second in the Sprint, had found his way onto the Aussie’s rear tyre, but a misjudged move on lap 20 was deemed a shortcut and the South African was slapped with a long-lap penalty that saw Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) through to eighth.

Up the front, the Marquez-Martin battle ensued, with Bezzechi now 3.3sec clear, but Zarco’s late-race pace showed he desperately wanted a home podium at the historic French GP. Miller’s race went from bad to worse as he crashed out of seventh with three laps to go and Marquez’s rear tyre cried no more when Martin made a lunge for second place into Turn 7, with the Spaniard sliding out of the race with just two laps to go.

Bezzechi’s 4.7sec lead had him home and hosed and Martin held on for second place, while Zarco delighted home fans with an eventual podium finish.

Rookie Fernandez stayed on board for an exceptional fourth place ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Binder and Quartararo, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Ducati), Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu LCR Honda) and Franco Morbidelli (Monster Yamaha) rounding out the top 10.

Bezzechi’s win moves him to within one point of Pecco Bagnaia, whose only points came from his third-place finish in the Sprint, with 93 points to Bagnaia’s 94. Binder (81) drops back to third ahead of Martin (80) and Zarco (66). Two no-scores from Miller means he’s in eighth on 49 points.

Round 6 of the MotoGP Championship will be held at Italy’s Mugello circuit in three weeks’ time, with race day slated for Sunday, June 11.