Although the rain fell overnight at Le Mans, the Bugatti circuit had time to dry out for the final free practice session and qualifying. The clouds were out for the sprint race with a thermometer showing 21°C in the air and 38°C on the track.
Pecco Bagnaia started from pole position after snatching the best time from Marc Márquez, who returned after a six-week absence, in the final moments of qualifying. Luca Marini accompanied the two men on the front row of a grid which included one absentee, namely Raúl Fernández, who withdrew this weekend due to a weakened right arm.
READ ALSO – Qualifiers – Pecco Bagnaia deprives Marc Márquez of pole!
While most riders opted for a little soft front and rear for the 13-lap event, some adopted a different strategy. These include KTM and Yamaha riders Jack Miller, Brad Binder, Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli, who had a medium front tire. Aleix Espargaró, eleventh on the grid after an impressive accident in Q2, opted for hard rubber.
Martín as a cannonball
When the lights went out, Bagnaia retained the lead while Miller took advantage of a good momentum to move from fourth to second place. Nevertheless, the Australian saw Jorge Martín (fifth) pass him at the exit of the Dunlop chicane. Also among the first-round winners was Brad Binder, who rose from tenth to sixth. Conversely, the French were roughed up in this first loop, Johann Zarco having fallen to eleventh place and Quartararo stagnating in thirteenth position, just like Maverick Viñales, who lost five places.
In the wheel of Martín, Miller quickly found himself on the ground. The KTM rider indeed crashed on the second lap, in the Museum bend. However, the contenders for victory remained numerous, since Márquez and Binder completed a new, very compact leading quartet.
The reigning World Champion and leader was however in difficulty in the first kilometers, and Martín found the opening at the start of the third lap. As the Spaniard escaped, building up a lead of almost a second in a single lap, Márquez and Binder honked their horns behind the Ducati rider. A scuffle between the two crowned heads benefited the South African, who overtook both at the exit of the Dunlop chicane.
If Márquez managed to get rid of Bagnaia afterwards, the Italian found rhythm and remained hooked to the wheel of the Honda driver, before taking third position with four laps to go. A better place on the podium seemed out of reach, Binder was 1.7 ahead and Martín almost two seconds over his runner-up.
Quartararo waives points
Behind, Quartararo had managed to find himself in the top 10, taking advantage of the poor form of the Aprilia to evolve into eighth position. Nevertheless, the Frenchman’s points hopes went up in smoke in the last kilometers due to a crash at the entrance to Chemin aux Bœufs.
For his part, Zarco could count on an excellent pace at the end of the race. The Pramac driver thus put pressure on the Marini-Márquez duo for fourth place, then held by the Italian, but an error at La Chapelle took him out of the fight for this position.
Martín easily won ahead of Binder and Bagnaia. Marini managed to take the lead over Márquez, Zarco settling for sixth place. Marco Bezzecchi, Aleix Espargaró (involved in an incident with Álex Márquez dismissed by the commissioners) and Viñales scored the last points at stake.
The Pramac driver’s victory allows him to gain three positions in the championship and move up to fourth place. Binder moved up to second, Bezzecchi dropping to third. Bagnaia remains the leader with 94 points.