Home Grand Prix for the two azurean riders since MotoGP was back on the Bugatti circuit. Did this bring luck to the riders or, on the contrary, add extra pressure?
An iconic circuit in the motorsport calendar, it was indeed at Le Mans where this sixth Grand Prix of the season took place. After a magnificent pole position and a second place in Jerez, Fabio Quartararo fully intends to try to repeat his performance in front of his home crowd. Yamaha also prepared a special livery for their home race.
Johann Zarco is also determined to give his all to satisfy his French fans.
Repeat the feat?
The weekend started well for Fabio Quartararo. After finishing sixth in Free Practice 1, he clocked the second-best time in practice, qualifying directly for Q2. He also achieved the best result in Free Practice 2, which bodes well for the qualifying. It certainly paid off as he secured his second consecutive pole position of the season. Encouraged by the crowd, he started at the front in both races of the weekend.
He had a very good start in the sprint race. Even though he lost the advantage on the straight, he regained it immediately under braking at the Dunlop chicane. The Nice native maintained his first position, ahead of a threatening Marc Márquez, creating a small gap. The Ducati rider was about 0.2 seconds faster per lap than the Yamaha rider, making him a threat for the lead of the race.
The battle finally started mid-race, with an attack from Marc Márquez, who was outpaced by the Frenchman. He ended up being overtaken at the next corner, with the Ducati having better top speed. Fabio Quartararo was now at the mercy of Álex Márquez, who took advantage of this battle to close in. On the eighth lap, rider number 73 took the lead over rider number 20. Fabio Quartararo was thus third. There was a noticeable lack of pace on the Yamaha at the end of the race, with Fermín Aldeguer just two-tenths behind the Frenchman. The battle between the two men erupted with only four laps to go, resulting in a spectacular exchange that included two minor contacts without much consequence, except for a loss of time. It was ultimately the Spaniard who won this battle and the third place. The sprint race ended with Fabio Quartararo in fourth position.
The rain made its appearance for the main race. Since the race was declared dry, the riders started on slicks. With the white flag waved, all riders pitted to switch to rain bikes. The red flag was waved to allow the riders to restart. During his warm-up lap, Fabio Quartararo locked his front tire and almost fell. When the race resumed, the rain had stopped. Fabio Quartararo decided to pit but received a penalty of a double long lap. A very good strategy since he lost his first position but regained it under braking much like in the sprint race. A battle between the Márquez brothers gave the Nice native a one-second lead. He decided to serve his first penalty on the third lap, not necessarily the best move since Vinales overtook him and Brad Binder also tried to pass. Two riders also served their penalties, allowing him to retake second place. On the fifth lap, Fabio Quartararo slipped and fell. He tried to rejoin the race, but his race ended there.
The waking dream
For Johann Zarco, the weekend started less well. He was eighth in Free Practice 1 and crashed in practice, which placed him only twelfth. He had to go through Q1. Free Practice 2 didn’t go better as he only managed ninth place. Fortunately, he set the fastest time in the first qualifying phase and thus accessed Q2. Unfortunately, he only managed to qualify eleventh on the starting grid. He would have to give his best performance in the race to get a good result.
He made a decent start in the sprint race as he gained a position over Jack Miller. But he lost it a few corners later. Francesco Bagnaia crashed hard into Dunlop, allowing the Cannes native to retake the tenth place. He received a track limits warning but managed to regain the advantage over Jack Miller for ninth place on the third lap. Marco Bezzecchi also crashed, putting Johann Zarco in eighth. The crashes kept coming, with Brad Binder crashing a lap later, allowing the Frenchman to climb another position. Pedro Acosta fell in the final lap, enabling Johann Zarco to take sixth place and to limit the damage of a weekend that started off poorly.
After the chaos at the start of the race, Johann Zarco decided not to pit and stay on rain tires. A very bad strategy for the rider who went off track and resumed in seventeenth position. Three riders pitted to change their bikes, bringing him back to fourteenth place. With the crash of Fabio Quartararo and Brad Binder, he regained the thirteenth place. The rain started to fall again and some riders pitted once more. Johann Zarco found himself fifth. With the rain tires, he didn’t pit to change bikes and found himself leading the French Grand Prix with an eight-second lead. With ten laps remaining, the Cannes native was holding a 12-second lead. If he made no mistakes, he could go for his second victory in the premier class. And that’s exactly what he did; after his first victory two years ago, following 71 years without a French victory in MotoGP in France, Johann Zarco won the 2025 French Grand Prix.
