Jorge Martin Stuns Bezzecchi with Late Pass to Win French MotoGP

It was a day to remember for Aprilia because not only did they lock out the top two spots on the podium thanks to the top two in the championship, but Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) produced some more late Grand Prix magic to force his way onto the MotoGP podium for the first time.

The riders now head to Spain for the next stop of MotoGP 2026.

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 dropped back on the next lap, and it was clear that Francesco Bagnaia had more pace than Pedro Acosta. The #63 soon passed the KTM rider to move into second place, cutting the gap to leader Marco Bezzecchi to 0.9 seconds.

Behind them, a fast-moving group formed. Fabio Di Giannantonio and Sprint winner Martin were now ahead of Quartararo, with Ai Ogura and Joan Mir following close behind.

Martin and Di Giannantonio then battled for position on lap 9. After a few attempts at Turn 3 and Turn 6, Martin finally completed the move at Turn 7. However, their fight dropped the second group more than 1.5 seconds behind the top three.

As the Grand Prix approached halfway, things at the front became more interesting. 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 #89 had pulled 1.1s on Di Giannantonio.

Then there was drama. Francesco Bagnaia, who looked safe in second place, crashed at Turn 3 on lap 16 of 27 after losing the front. It was a disappointing end to what had been a strong weekend for him, but he was physically fine.

This also helped Jorge Martin, who moved up to third. Now right in the fight for the win, he closed in and, on lap 18, the Aprilia rider overtook Pedro Acosta.

It was now an Aprilia vs Aprilia fight, P1 against P2 in the title battle. Jorge Martin was 1.5 seconds behind Marco Bezzecchi, but while attention was on Joan Mir attempting a move on Fabio Quartararo at Turn 3, the gap between the leaders dropped by half a second.

By lap 20, Bezzecchi still led Martin by one second, with Pedro Acosta 0.7 seconds behind in third place.

At the beginning of Lap 2, the gap was 0.8s. Martin was reeling in on 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.

If #79 could get involved in the fight for victory depended on whether Jorge Martin was able to battle with Bezzecchi, which would open the opportunity.

With four laps remaining, Martin was right on Bezzecchi's rear wheel after a strong 1:31.2 lap, compared to Bezzecchi's 1:31.4.

Marco Bezzecchi was in trouble, and it showed. With three laps to go, Jorge Martin made his move -- and it was a brilliant one. He braked late into Turn 3 and completed the pass cleanly.

Martin took the lead for the first time, and Bezzecchi had no reply. There was no counterattack, as Martin quickly pulled out a 0.7-second gap.

Instead of fighting for the win, Marco Bezzecchi now had to defend third place. Ai Ogura was closing fast, just 0.7 seconds behind the factory RS-GP, then down to 0.5 seconds as they went into the final lap.

Up front, the gap between Jorge Martin and Bezzecchi was 0.6 seconds, meaning a clean final lap would secure the win for Martin.

That's exactly what happened. For the first time since the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix, Martin took victory and stood on the top step of the podium.

Bezzecchi managed to hold off late pressure from Ai Ogura to take a strong 20-point finish. However, the Italian's championship lead was cut to just one point after a small setback caused by his teammate.

Ogura, meanwhile, secured a brilliant third place to claim his first MotoGP podium, becoming the first Japanese rider to finish on the podium since 2012.

A last-lap, penultimate-corner move saw Fabio Di Giannantonio pass Pedro Acosta for fourth place, pushing the KTM rider down to fifth.

Fabio Quartararo ended his home Grand Prix in sixth after a strong weekend. While P6 isn't the result he usually aims for, given the circumstances, "El Diablo" will still be satisfied.

Seventh went to Enea Bastianini, followed by Raul Fernandez, Fermin Aldeguer, and Luca Marini, completing the top ten in Le Mans.

Johann Zarco's (Castrol Honda LCR) home Grand Prix Sunday didn't go as planned after Fernandez forced the Frenchman wide on Lap 1, leaving last year's winner just inside the top 15. P11 was Zarco's result in the end, as Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) picked up the final points on offer in France.

Fans can catch all the action from the Gran Premi de Catalunya - Qualifying Race, live exclusively on Eurosport and Eurosport HD from 14:15 Hrs (02:15 PM IST) onwards on May 16 (Saturday).

- ANI