LE MANS, France — Jorge Martin visited MotoGP victory lane for the first time since 2024 with an impressive ride in Sunday’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans.
Riding the No. 89 Aprilia Racing machine, Martin ran down and passed teammate Marco Bezzecchi to win for the first time since the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix.
While the Aprilia riders locked out the top two spots, Trackhouse MotoGP’s Ai Ogura finished third to earn his first MotoGP podium finish.
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 – 0.2 seconds quicker than leader Bezzecchi.
The chasers lost ground on the next lap, and it was clear Pecco had some pace in hand over Acosta. And sure enough, the No. 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 halfway point, but intriguing was the word to describe what was going on at the front. Bezzecchi’s advantage was 0.6 seconds 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 No. 89 was he had pulled 1.1 seconds on Di Giannantonio.
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.
Now, it was Aprilia vs Aprilia. P1 vs P2 in the title race. Martin was 1.5 seconds 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 0.7 seconds 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.
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 0.7 seconds clear.
Instead of the win, Bezzecchi now had a real task to keep P3. Ogura was now just 0.7 seconds away from the factory RS-GP, then 0.5s, as we entered the final lap of the Grand Prix.
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.
A penultimate corner pass on the final lap saw Di Giannantonio overtake Acosta for P4 honors.
