MotoGP riders and Team Managers reflect on the French GP

4 weeks ago 24

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Round Five – Le Mans

Jorge Martin – P1

“I am truly happy. At the start, I didn’t think I’d be able to battle for the win, but I never let up. Aprilia is giving me what I need and my confidence is growing day by day. Now it is important to continue working in this direction to improve even more.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P2

“It was a good weekend overall, despite the difficulties. I’m pleased because I took a spot on the front row in qualifying and finished on the podium in the sprint race and in the long race. I tried to stay focused and to ride without making mistakes. I gave one hundred percent, but Jorge had a little more.”

Ai Ogura leans the Trackhouse Aprilia through a left-hander during French MotoGP Friday Practice at Le Mans.

Ai Ogura – P3

“The race was really nice and we were lucky with the weather. My start wasn’t very good, but I managed to get through a few riders in the first two, three, corners and I think that was the biggest point. After that the first part wasn’t really easy but, from midway through the race, I started to feel OK with the bike and managed to overtake many riders. I’m super happy – I didn’t expect that much of a drop from Pedro (Acosta) and we had a good pace towards the end of the race. That wasn’t expected, but really good.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P4

“I am very happy with the work of my team and mine, because we did the maximum today. In the race, we tried to keep the change we did this morning and it’s always difficult to confirm it in the few laps of the warm up. But the guys did an incredible job, and this helped me a lot in the race. At the start, I realized I was struggling more than the riders at the front, so I would have given the 120% to stay with them. So, I decided to manage a bit and try to do the maximum in terms of consistency. Overall, I am happy, we lost some points in the championship, but we confirm the third place. In Jerez test we worked well to try to fill the gap and here in Le Mans we took the best direction for us, but there’s still some work to do because today we were only fourth.”

Pedro Acosta – P5

“We didn’t manage the tires like the others. It’s clear we need to improve a few things but I’m happy for my best weekend in Le Mans so far. Also happy with my start; that was quite nice, and also the first 10-12 laps. The second 10, the rear dropped. It looks like the bike is better than we had in Jerez and I’m happy to be back near the front again.”

Fabio Quartararo – P6

“We had to be really smooth on braking, but that’s also were I can make the difference. I think today was the first race in a long time that I felt like this. I could push myself at 100%, and I think that was quite nice, especially on the opening lap. Everything was more close, it was easier to overtake, and I could feel the limit better, so yeah, it was nice. Let’s see what happens at other track layouts.”

Enea Bastianini – P7

“It was a good comeback today. Yesterday I crashed twice, so the main goal was just to recover positions and bring the bike home. In the end, seventh isn’t bad, but I expected a bit more. With the soft rear tyre, it was difficult to push. There was a lot of movement, and for me it’s hard to manage that instability. Especially at the end of the race, I wasn’t as fast as I usually am. Still, it’s a good result for the team, so I’m happy with that. It’s not easy, because the competition is very strong, but we know the areas that we need to work on. On my side, I need to keep working on qualifying – I’ve improved a bit, but we still need more.”

Raul Fernandez – P8

“I feel that we are working well, but we’re missing something. Maybe, it’s the time to change something in how we prepare the race, because during the weekend, we are always working well. In terms of pace, I’m always quite close to the other Aprilia’s, but when I’m in the race and I have the slipstream I can’t do what I want with the bike. For the future, we need to try to understand what we have to change to prepare the race because right now this is the key. I’m happy for Aprilia, they are doing a really great job and we are not far from them, but we have to improve Qualifying and overtaking.”

Fermin Aldeguer – P9

“Considering how we started the weekend, finishing with this result is definitely very positive. In the race, maybe I could have done a little more, but starting so far back forced us into a different strategy because of the tyre choice. The soft front tyre allowed us to make up a lot of positions, but in the final third of the race we no longer had enough grip to try and attack Raul Fernandez.”

Luca Marini – P10

“A big pity today, my front tyre choice was the wrong one – who was expecting the sun in the race?! It was difficult to arrive at the end because there was a lot of movement by the end, on the other hand with the hard at the start of the race was on the limit because it was cold before the sun arrived. It’s positive that we finished tenth and still got some points after a weekend with ups and downs, but it’s not what we want anymore. There’s work to be done and in this race, we struggled more with race pace than other rounds this year.”

Johann Zarco – P11

“It was a tough weekend. It wasn’t the performance we wanted. The little crash on Saturday morning affected my confidence, and once you lose a bit, you lose it everywhere. During today’s race, I tried to stay on the bike, but I wasn’t competitive and I struggled. Overall, the positive is that when I have a good feeling, we can see that something great is possible with this bike. The target is to repeat the strong performances we can achieve when we feel good. We’ll try again in Barcelona!”

Alex Rins – P12

“It was really tough. In the middle of the race, I couldn’t engage the right gear. Though it resolved itself later on, it cost me some positions. It‘s a shame the race weekend ended like this after a good Friday. Now we will focus on Barcelona.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P13

Of course it‘s positive to finish back in the points, but honestly I cannot be fully satisfied because of the final position and especially because of the gap to the front. I also made a few mistakes during the race, so part of that gap is definitely on me as well, but overall we are still missing something compared to the others. At the same time, seeing the incredible job Fabio did throughout the weekend makes me understand two things very clearly: first, that I still have a lot to improve myself, and second, that the bike also still has room to improve because obviously with the right setup the potential is there. I will continue studying the data carefully and maybe in Barcelona we can even try starting from a setup closer to Fabio‘s to better understand if that direction could also work for me. For the race we chose the soft front and soft rear tyres. The beginning was actually not bad and I felt quite good, but towards the end the front tyre dropped a lot and it became more difficult to manage.”

Franco Morbidelli – P14

“Today, I couldn’t be fast as I wanted and I was locked in the traffic far behind. Overall, we’re still struggling to manage the new package, but the positive note is that we completed the race getting some points and we collected some important information. Laps and data can show more the problems; this is important and what we need to keep improving. We continue our work and I am sure we will find a way to be back at the front.”

Jack Miller – P15

“I was hoping for a little bit more today. We decided to go with the soft front tyre because we expected the temperature to be slightly cooler. Even on the sighting lap to the grid there was quite a strong wind and the radar suggested there could be more cloud cover coming, so we took a gamble with the soft front. I knew it was going to be difficult in the group, but historically I‘ve usually been able to manage the soft front quite well with my riding style. Unfortunately, with around fifteen laps to go I really started struggling a lot with it and in the end it wasn‘t the right choice for today. Still, it was one of those decisions that could also have worked if the conditions had changed a little differently. It‘s a pity because this weekend we were definitely closer to the others, but still not close enough. We need to keep working and continue building from here.”

Jonas Folger rides the Red Bull KTM Tech3 machine through the final sector at Le Mans.

Jonas Folger – P16

“It was a tough race, but the goal was to complete the distance and keep learning. I made good progress up to qualifying, but in the race I couldn’t match that pace and struggled with comfort and physical fatigue, especially in my left shoulder. Overall, the weekend was still better than expected. I came in with a focus on understanding the bike, but after yesterday’s crash I lacked some confidence and today it was full focus on getting the laps in and finishing. I want to say thank you to the Tech3 guys for being so patient and giving me the room to improve at such a high level.”

Brad Binder rides the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine through a right-hander at Le Mans.

Brad Binder – DNF

“I locked the front wheel going into turn 7 and the change of direction. It was a fast crash. I braked a bit later and with a bit more pressure. It was just too much. Today I was a lot faster but not where I need to be. The positive is that this morning in warm-up I was quicker and in the race also [than Saturday]. I felt like I was on my way forward. Everything felt easier.”

Joan Mir – DNF

“Not the way we wanted to finish a really strong weekend for us because I think a top five result was there at the end. It was a crash I was not expecting. I had the hard front, able to stay behind Fabio safely, but when I passed him I had to be very aggressive to keep heat in the tyre. Under straight braking I lost the front early and I suffered a very hard crash, and I leave with a couple of stitches in my hand. Overall I am OK which is the most important thing.”

Francesco Bagnaia – DNF

“The weekend was positive overall: we started strong and worked well, managing to be fast in every session and improving steadily. Today in the race we were in the game, but despite some problems at the start, we had a small issue that made me lose confidence in the front. I tried to keep pushing to maintain the same pace, but in the end I lost the front. These things can happen, we have a clear idea of where we need to work and we will do so for the next races.”

Diogo Moreira – DNF

“Today was more difficult than yesterday. I was there fighting, but it was difficult to keep the pace. I made a mistake at Turn 9. I tried to catch the group, but I went wide and ended up crashing. After yesterday’s race, I was quite happy, so now it’s just a matter of continuing like this and improving race by race.”

Alex Marquez crashes his Gresini Ducati during the French MotoGP race at Le Mans.

Alex Marquez – DNF

“I probably took Turn 3 a bit too slowly because I was worried the front tyre was still not fully up to temperature, and then I applied slightly too much throttle in Turn 4 and lost the front. A stupid mistake on my part, but fortunately I’m fine. It’s great to have Barcelona coming up very soon so we can make up for this race.”

Team Managers

Massimo Rivola – Aprilia Racing

“It was a historic day with three Aprilias on the podium for the first time. It is particularly thrilling to see Jorge so strong here in Le Mans, where exactly one year ago, he thought he might be leaving us, and it’s also great to see Marco so competitive and mature. And then, seeing Ai’s podium is also a relief after what happened in Austin. They staff in Noale is doing a truly extraordinary job and I think this is proper recognition for a working team led so admirably by Fabiano.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principal

“I think the French GP will remain in our memories. Finally, we got the first podium with Ai Ogura and I think, a well-deserved podium. In Austin we realized it was coming and here he did a great race. He started in the third row, overtaking and went faster and faster in the race – a fantastic performance! In the end, I think he could have tried to attack, but he wanted to bring home this first podium, so we’re very happy. I hope this will also give Ai more confidence for the future – I think I can feel that we’re going to enjoy more races during the season. Raul was not so close to him and he had some struggles in the second half of the race. It was difficult for him to overtake – we have to look at the data and see how we can help for the next time, in Barcelona. All in all, a very good day for Trackhouse – the first podium for Ai and we consolidated our second place in the team standing – of course, the first position is Aprilia. It was also the first full podium of Aprilia and we are very happy to have contributed to this historical day. Let’s move forward and next week in Barcelona – let’s try to do it again!”

Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager

“The Le Mans weekend was positive, I think we are working very well. With Diggia, we secured the fourth place in today’s race, it’s a pity just for the start of yesterday’s Sprint. But in Qualifying, we were fourth and we proved to play always key roles, that is the most important thing. Of course, when you’re not on the podium, it’s a bit bittersweet, but we must say that we did a great job. With Franky, we work to find the perfect feeling, because he deserves to be more in front. But I think that we found something that can be good for the next race in Barcelona. We keep working in this direction.”

Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“Difficult to be really happy about the results today even if a 5th position and 7th are quite positive. The podium was not far away. The gap to the top was quite small and we definitely made steps compared to last year. Of course, the competition is so close in MotoGP so it is time to analyze the weekend well and the work done and to focus on our weak areas. So, the top five for Pedro and the top seven for Enea is good…but we want more. Brad’s race as well, until the crash, also gave us hope for more progress. We have to thank Jonas for his solid work. He hasn’t been on a GP bike much and we appreciated his professionalism.”

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“Well, a positive Sunday here for Red Bull KTM Tech3. We knew Bastianini had the pace to do a strong weekend. Unfortunately, we somehow missed the mark a little bit in qualifying, but starting 14th on the grid and finishing in P7 is obviously a great race. To me this just confirms Enea is in good shape at the moment so we can look ahead to Barcelona with a lot of confidence. On the other side of the garage, we’re happy with Jonas’ performance. Nobody can really understand how tough it is to jump back on a MotoGP bike after so long, but it was a consistent race today. He didn’t make any mistakes and got close to the points, so thank you, Jonas, for your help. Now the whole team is going to pack everything and move to Barcelona for the race next weekend.”

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Motor Racing & Monster Energy Team Director

“It’s been a GP of two tales for us again. Starting with the positive: Fabio made the decision to go with the soft front tyre, aiming to exploit it on the opening lap to get as much towards the front as possible. This tyre choice kept us on the edge of our seats as we were afraid the tyre would drop, but in the end Fabio made it work all the way to the end. He got the maximum out of our package today, and this sixth place is a very encouraging result for him and the team. Álex, on the other hand, had a difficult outing again. He had some ups and downs throughout the race. We will analyse all the data as we prepare for next week’s Catalan GP.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha Team Director

“Overall, I would say it has been an interesting and positive weekend for us. We managed to finish in the points with both riders, which is an important step for the team. Of course, the gap to the front is still significant, but race after race we are reducing that distance, and this is the most encouraging sign. It‘s not only something positive for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP, but also for the entire Yamaha project, especially considering the great performance Quartararo showed both yesterday and today. He was consistently fast and not far from the leading group, and that is a very important indication of the progress being made. The bike is improving and we are improving together with it, so I believe we are moving in the right direction.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin

“The 2026 Le Mans weekend perfectly illustrated the versatility and performance level of our MICHELIN Power Slick range. We encountered very different conditions between Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with track temperatures ranging from 26°C to more than 42°C, followed by a cooler and partially drying track on race day. Despite this wide variety of conditions, riders were able to maintain excellent confidence and sustain extremely high pace levels throughout the weekend.

“Marc Márquez’s new all-time lap record in qualifying demonstrates the outright performance potential of our tyres, while Jorge Martin’s new race duration record confirms their consistency and efficiency over race distance. We also observed extremely small gaps between riders, proving that our tyres allow every competitor to fully exploit the potential of their machine. Finally, seeing more than 300,000 spectators attending the MICHELIN Grand Prix of France at Le Mans is a tremendous source of satisfaction for Michelin. The public enthusiasm surrounding this event, combined with the exceptionally high sporting level demonstrated throughout the weekend, makes this 2026 edition a major success for our sport and for our brand.”

Le Mans MotoGP Race Results


Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	J. Martin	Apr	41m18.001
2	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	+0.477
3	A. Ogura	Apr	+0.874
4	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+2.851
5	P. Acosta	KTM	+2.991
6	F. Quartararo	Yam	+7.756
7	E. Bastianini	KTM	+8.615
8	R. Fernandez	Apr	+12.497
9	F. Aldeguer	Duc	+14.903
10	L. Marini	Hon	+15.016
11	J. Zarco	Hon	+16.549
12	A. Rins	Yam	+32.343
13	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	+32.476
14	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+32.774
15	J. Miller	Yam	+36.059
16	J. Folger	KTM	+1:13.229
Not Classified
NC	B. Binder	KTM	+7 Laps
NC	J. Mir	Hon	+8 Laps
NC	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+12 Laps
NC	D. Moreira	Hon	+17 Laps
NC	A. Marquez	Duc	+26 Laps

Le Mans MotoGP Top Speeds


Pos	Rider	Bike	Average	Top
1	F. Bagnaia	Duc	320.2	322.7
2	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	319.2	321.6
3	E. Bastianini	KTM	318.7	319.6
4	P. Acosta	KTM	316.4	319.6
5	D. Moreira	Hon	314.3	318.5
6	B. Binder	KTM	317.3	318.5
7	A. Rins	Yam	317.2	318.5
8	F. Aldeguer	Duc	317.1	318.5
9	A. Ogura	Apr	317.8	318.5
10	J. Martin	Apr	317.2	318.5
11	J. Zarco	Hon	316.1	317.5
12	L. Marini	Hon	316.6	317.5
13	R. Fernandez	Apr	316.6	317.5
14	J. Mir	Hon	316.8	317.5
15	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	313.7	316.5
16	F. Quartararo	Yam	314.1	316.5
17	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	315.5	316.5
18	F. Morbidelli	Duc	313.5	315.5
19	A. Marquez	Duc	–	315.5
20	J. Miller	Yam	309.6	312.6
21	J. Folger	KTM	306.9	307.7

2026 MotoGP Championship Standings


Pos	Rider	Total
1	M. Bezzecchi	128
2	J. Martin	127
3	F. Di Giannantonio	84
4	P. Acosta	83
5	A. Ogura	67
6	R. Fernandez	62
7	M. Marquez	57
8	A. Marquez	55
9	F. Bagnaia	43
10	E. Bastianini	39
11	L. Marini	33
12	J. Zarco	29
13	B. Binder	28
14	F. Aldeguer	27
15	F. Morbidelli	27
16	F. Quartararo	26
17	D. Moreira	10
18	J. Mir	8
19	A. Rins	7
20	T. Razgatlioglu	4
21	J. Miller	1
22	M. Viñales
23	J. Folger
24	M. Pirro
25	A. Fernandez

2026 MotoGP Calendar


Rnd	Date	Event	Circuit
1	01 Mar	Thai	Chang International Circuit
2	22 Mar	Brazil*	Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna
3	29 Mar	US	Circuit of the Americas
4	26 Apr	Spain**	Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
5	10 May	France	Le Mans
6	17 May	Catalonia	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
7	31 May	Italy	Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
8	07 Jun	Hungary	Balaton Park Circuit
9	21 Jun	Czech	Automotodrom Brno
10	28 Jun	Netherlands	TT Circuit Assen
11	12 Jul	Germany	Sachsenring
12	09 Aug	GB	Silverstone Circuit
13	30 Aug	Aragon	MotorLand Aragon
14	13 Sep	San Marino	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
15	20 Sep	Austria	Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
16	04 Oct	Japan	Mobility Resort Motegi
17	11 Oct	Indonesia	Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit
18	25 Oct	Australia	Phillip Island
19	01 Nov	Malaysia	Petronas Sepang International Circuit
20	08 Nov	Qatar	Lusail International Circuit
21	22 Nov	Portugal	Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
22	29 Nov	Valencia	Circuit Ricardo Tormo

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