-Clinches victory after an epic battle with Bagnaia
-Marc Marquez rose from P13 to P2
-Bagnaia settles for third
Jorge Martin had an amazing race weekend at the French GP in Le Mans as he clinched victory in the main race. The Prima Pramac Racing rider astride his Ducati also won the Sprint Race on Saturday and set Pole position while setting the all-time lap record at the circuit on a MotoGP bike. While he dominated the Sprint, the victory in the main race wasn’t so.
Mega Martin
As the lights went out, Ducati Factory Team’s Pecco Bagnaia pipped polesitter Martin for the lead in the Race's opening stages. Bagnaia, who had to retire from the Saturday Sprint due to issues with his bike, was keen on making the most of the Sunday Race. Bagnaia, as so often does on a Sunday, settled into a rhythm at the early stages of the Race, and kept setting a fast pace to keep the hard-charging Jorge Martin at bay.
As the race progressed, it looked like Bagnaia was going to hold on to the lead but as has been the case with Martin this year, one can never discount him. With only a few laps left, Martin made a brilliant move on the unsuspecting Bagnaia and snatched the lead. Pecco tried to regain the position but Martin was incredible on the brakes and managed to retain the position. He crossed the finish line first and understandably couldn’t contain his happiness, as he made up for lost ground after crashing in Jerez, a couple of weeks ago.
Battle of the Champions
The other highlight of the race was undoubtedly Marc Marquez’s incredible run from P13 to P2. The Spaniard made a brilliant start and quickly began overtaking the riders ahead of him at any given opportunity. In classic Marquez fashion, he made some insanely late-braking overtakes to rise up the order. Let’s not forget that the Gresini Racing rider is on a 2023 Ducati GP bike and was proving to the world what he’s made of.
His experience also came to the fore as he waited patiently in third in the closing stages of the race and watched Bagnaia and Martin duel and in turn, burn through a lot of their rear tyre. On the last lap, with Bagnaia struggling to keep up with Martin, Marquez made a late lunge on the inside of Pecco and grabbed P2. The visibly ecstatic Marquez celebrated P2 as if it were a win and going by his hunger and determination, he might just clinch a victory in this long season.
Championship heats up
Speaking of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship, the season has been nothing short of epic in its initial stages. Jorge Martin leads with 129 points in the bag. Pecco Bagnaia is second with 91 points to his name while Marc Marquez follows in third place with 89 points in his pocket. There is still a long way to go and there aren’t a lot of points separating the top five riders.
The next round of the Championship will be held from 24 May to 26 May at the Circuit De Barcelona, Catalunya in Spain.
