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Sprint Race
Follow the Grand Prix France live. This MotoGP race starts at 15:00 on 11 May 2024. Find race results, calendar, standings, scores and all of this season’s MotoGP races.
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Highlights
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BYE FOR NOW
That's the end of today's Le Mans action in MotoGP - thank you for your company today.
We will welcome you all back to the French GP tomorrow for the big race at 13:00, streaming on TNT Sports.
Make sure to check out all the French GP action (and more) at TNTSports.co.uk
MARQUEZ CELEBRATES RECOVERY DRIVE
JORGE MARTIN POST-RACE
"First of all, great fans because this is a fantastic crowd. I'm so happy because the pace was outstanding. I knew, I knew from Thursday. It was difficult because Marco was putting out some great laps, then when I saw he crashed I just tried to keep my constant pace right to the end, quite relaxed. Tomorrow will be a long race."
MARQUEZ POST-RACE
"The target was to be in the top 7 or 8 because the pace was there. In some laps, I was on the same pace as Martin. Super happy, impressive but tomorrow will be difficult to repeat the same start because today was perfect."
TOP NINE
BRILLIANT RECOVERY FROM MARQUEZ
A brilliant recovery ride from Marquez saw him climb from 14th to second at Le Mans, after the reigning world champion suffered from a slow start and retired from the race. Vinales retained his third place while under pressure from Bastianini, but no rider could touch the championship leader two seconds ahead of Marquez.
MARTIN WINS LE MANS SPRINT
Jorge Martin wins his 12th MotoGP Sprint win around Le Mans, leading from start to finish ahead of Marquez in second and Vinales in third.
BASTIANINI CLOSES ON VINALES
Bastianini closes the gap to Vinales for third place, cutting the gap to less than a second while Marquez continues his hunt for first place. Acosta grazed the floor on his last lap, earning his first Track Limits.
BEZZECCHI CRASHES OUT
Bezzecchi crashes out at Turn 9, going too deep around the flat curve and tumbles out of the podium places. This leaves the race-leader vulnerable to Marquez on the hunt with a brilliant recovery ride from 13th. With a two-second gap to Marquez, Martin is close to grasping 12th MotoGP Sprint win.
MARTIN LEADS WHILE MARQUEZ SETS FASTEST LAP
Rins crashes at Turn 8, falling into the gravel traps coming out of the long straight. A battle up front between Acosta and Di Giannantonio saw the GASGAS snatch the sixth position going wide around the Ducati.
Marquez tails behind Bezzecchi for second place, cutting the gap down to less than a second on the hunt for the race leader Martin who has failed to pull away from his fellow Ducati riders.
MIR CRASHES AS BAGNAIA RETIRES
Mir crashes on the third lap, going off into the gravel and retires from the race alongside Bagnaia. With replays showing a stalled start from Bagnaia, his second-place was quickly lost as he tumbled down the grid to retire from the Sprint.
Meanwhile, Marquez finds himself in contention for a podium as he battles for the second slot with Bezzecchi.
MARTIN LEADS WHILE BAGNAIA FALLS TO BOTTOM
Martin leads the French GP Sprint race in search for his first win around Le Mans while the second-runner Bagnaia fell to the bottom of the grid after a disastrously slow start due to a crash in qualifying.
MARQUEZ STORMED THE GRID
Marquez climbed from 13th to fourth place in the first lap, swapping positions with the reigning champion Bagnaia. The world champion stormed up the grid, snatching the fourth position from Vinales around the left corner.
MARTIN CLINGS ONTO HIS POLE
Martin nails the start from pole while Bagnaia fell to 14th after a slow start due to a suspected mechanical issue, but Marquez crept up from 13th to fifth in an excellent climb.
WARM UP LAP
The riders take their places on the starting grid for the 13-lap Sprint battle under the French sunlight.
WHAT IS THE BUGATTI CIRCUIT
While the 24 Hours of Le Mans races on the full Circuit de la Sarthe, MotoGP races on the 'little brother' track layout of the Bugatti Circuit. Set to remain on the MotoGP calendar until at least 2026, motorcycle fans have been flocking to the unpredictable circuit since the early 1970s.
With breaks over the decades, Honda have accumulated the most Le Mans wins for a manufacturer with 52. The riders will take to the warm up lap in a few minutes under the French sunlight.
DUCATI LOOKS FOR THEIR FIFTH LE MANS WIN
With four Ducati drivers in the top five on the Sprint starting grid, Ducati will be looking for their fifth win at the iconic Le Mans circuit. As Ducati have so far dominated the weekend, only Aprilia look strong enough to challenge the Italian team.
QUARTARARO STARTING STRONG AT HOME RACE
After a chaotic qualifying session, Fabio Quartararo placed himself in eighth on the starting grid. Sandwiched between the GASGAS of Pedro Acosta in seventh and the Pramac Duacti of Franco Morbidelli in ninth, Quartararo is starting strong on home soil.
The French driver was less than two-tenths off the front row in practice yesterday with a promising pace ahead of the Sprint race. Born in Nice to becoming the first French world champion in the premier class, Quartararo hopes to give the French fans something to remember this weekend.
MARQUEZ STRUGGLES AT LE MANS
Marc Marquez powered through a tricky Qualifying 1 session after a Friday full of struggles. An incredible save after a lock-up placed him in 13th to start the Sprint race.
Suffering from a lack of pace in his Ducati, the Spanish world champion crashed out during practice and was outclassed by his fellow Ducati riders. Failing to challenge the two championship contenders, this has so far been Marquez's worst weekend this season.
MARTIN KNEW HE WOULD BE FAST
Despite his crash during qualifying, Martin secured his first-ever pole position at Le Mans. Inching away from Bagnaia tailing behind, Martin smashed the lap record in an aggressive lap. Even with a small mistake, his speedy lap was enough to set the pole position and place him on the front row.
He said: "As soon as I saw the Q1 lap times, I thought I would make the 1:29 to make the pole.
I feel super strong in terms of pace, I feel super fast so today will be telling in the race but we got the pole position and I'm really happy."
LE MANS TO REVIVE MOTOGP
Last summer at the French GP here in the small and sunny town of Le Mans, 278,805 motorsport fans flocked to the iconic circuit to celebrate the 1000th MotoGP Grand Prix. This year, it is estimated that 300,000 fans will attend the French GP over the course of the weekend.
As Ducati searches for their fifth consecutive win around Le Mans, the two riders on the front row will aim to secure the necessary points to aid their championship fight at the Bugatti Circuit. With 11 tricky corners, the track is full of history and chaos.
WHAT HAPPENED IN QUALIFYING
Cementing himself as the fastest rider on two wheels in Le Mans’ history, Jorge Martin found himself in pole position despite crashing out in the final moments. The reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia filled the second slot in the front row, also crashing out, as yellow flags at the end of Q1 cancelled some laps.
WELCOME TO LE MANS
Good afternoon and welcome to our live test coverage of the French GP at the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe. As MotoGP returns to the fan-favourite Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, chaos has already unfolded in a hectic qualifying session.
The championship leader Jorge Martin starts from pole position after smashing the track’s motorcycle lap record early in the session, clocking in a 1:29.919s. Hoping to build a gap to the reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia tailing behind in second place, Martin will look to secure the win around Le Mans.
French GP Live - Championship leader Martin starts from pole after smashing the track lap record