Martin wins French MotoGP cliffhanger

It’s hard to recall a more intriguing final five laps of a premier-class race than that of the 27-lap French Grand Prix. And while it was Prima Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin who eventually took the spoils after starting on pole position, it was the performance of Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati) who raised more than a few eyebrows, as the pair face off this year for the factory seat alongside Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) for 2025.

On paper, Martin’s weekend was perfect; a new lap record, pole position and victory in both the Sprint and the feature-length grand prix. But when Marquez failed to progress through to Q2, putting his one-year-old Ducati 13th on the grid, Gresini’s 1000th grand prix celebrations were looking subdued.

It was Bagnaia who nabbed the holeshot when the lights went out, beating Sprint winner Martin to the first apex as he looked to make up for his Sprint DNF, with Martin and front-row starter Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) close behind. And while Marquez couldn’t replicate the impressive start in the Sprint which saw him as high as fifth on the opening lap, he did improve five places to eighth as the field crossed the line to start lap two.

Bagnaia looked impressive at the head of the field, controlling the pace and keeping Martin at bay as the field jostled for position behind. The factory Aprilias looked good early on with both Espargaro and Maverick Vinales running in the top five for the first eight laps. Pedro Acosta (Tech3 GasGas) grabbed fifth place from Vinales on lap two, but the rookie’s early aggression cost him as he tried a similar move on Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) the next time around, remarkably avoiding Diggia and Espargaro as he lost the front and crashed just two and a half laps into his French team’s home grand prix.

Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Ducati), racing to defend his factory Ducati seat and looking for a strong start after qualifying in 10th, was battling for seventh with Marco Bezzechi (VR46 Ducati). The latter crashed out on lap four, however the Italian was now already behind the advancing Marc Marquez who was up to sixth.

As Martin shadowed Bagnaia at the front of the race, the strong-starting Espargaro came under attack from Diggia on lap 10 before falling into the clutches of both his Aprilia teammate and Marquez, going from third to sixth on lap 11. Things got worse for the Spaniard the next time around as Bastianini pounced when he ran wide, but neither rider made the corner and, while they both stayed on, Bastianini was slapped with a long-lap penalty for what was deemed as a shortcut when he ran off line.

The penalty elevated Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) into the top six, giving home fans something to cheer for, as Marquez eventually found a way past a defensive Vinales to take fourth place. With 13 laps to go, Marquez was over a second behind Diggia, who in turn was a further 1.1 seconds behind the leading duo where Bagnaia was still holding firm at the front.

On lap 15 Bastianini was down in ninth place, while Marquez reduced a 1.2sec gap to Diggia to virtually nothing in a matter of a lap and a half. Diggia did well to hold off the eight-time world champ’s moves but succumbed on lap 18, where their dicing meant Marquez was now almost 2.5sec behind Martin with just 10 laps to go.

Up ahead, Martin was as close to Bagnaia as he’d been all race. His first lunge for the lead came at the Dunlop chicane on lap 20, but Bagnaia snatched it straight back. The Spaniard made it stick one lap later though, the tussle helping Marquez who was now just 0.8sec behind Bagnaia when Martin took the lead with just six laps remaining.

That 0.8sec gap vanished by the end of the same lap thanks to some brilliant late-race speed from the Gresini rider and nothing separated the leading trio with five laps left to run. A shortcut-induced long-lap penalty for Diggia elevated Vinales to fourth, a series of fastest laps meant Bastianini had impressively clawed his way back up to fifth, while Quartararo’s crowd-pleasing performance ended in the gravel trap.

The leading trio all dug deep, Martin producing his personal best lap of the race late on. Marquez hung back on the penultimate lap, a mix of cooling his front tyre and staying clear of any desperate moves that were sure to unfold between two men leading the championship and the race. But when the expected move didn’t eventuate, Marquez took matters into his own hands on the final lap, snatching second place from Bagnaia late on, as Martin held firm to take the race victory and stamp his authority on the championship standings.

While Martin celebrated as if he’d won the title, Bagnaia remained calm, conceding in Parc Ferme he didn’t have the pace to match Martin and Marquez. But Marquez summed up what was plain for all to see and what will surely keep Jorge Martin awake at night.

“The most impressive thing was that when I was alone, the pace was there,” he grinned.

Bastianini’s speed can’t be ignored either, the Italian recovered to fourth place despite his long-lap penalty, relegating Vinales to fifth on the final lap. 

Aussie Jack Miller’s (Red Bull KTM) torrid season continued when he joined the crashers list on lap 18, two laps after Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) also ended yet another race in the gravel.

The result puts Martin 38 points clear of Bagnaia, 129 to 91, who is now only two points clear of both Marquez (89) and Bastianini (89). Vinales (81) sits in fifth.

The next round is in front of Martin and Marquez’ home crowd at Catalunya over 24-26 May.