MotoGP French GP: Martin wins sprint race after rocket start, Marquez crashes

Factory Aprilia rider Jorge Martin vaulted from eighth place on the grid to claim the lead at the first corner and win his second sprint race of 2026 at Le Mans on Saturday. 

While the Spaniard celebrated the fruits of an incredible getaway and first corner, leading home Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, his countryman Marc Marquez crashed spectacularly late in the race as his troubled season continued. 

Martin's start was among the most amazing seen in living memory. Not only did he have a great getaway from the third row, but his work at the first corner was breathtaking. Seemingly out of position on the outside under braking for the Dunlop chicane, Martin barely seemed to notice team-mate Bezzecchi leading Bagnaia on his inside. Conventional thinking would suggest they were comfortably ahead of him in the queue for the tricky, accident-prone funnel. 

Start action

Photo by: Loic Venance / AFP via Getty Images

But Martin simply aimed at the second apex of the chicane, and arrived there with timing that was nothing short of perfect. He showed up on that apex just a whisker ahead of Bezzecchi and the rest, claiming a dramatic early lead. From there he controlled the race, and was never threatened as he kept his lead mostly between one and two seconds throughout proceedings.

Bezzecchi, probably shocked to see his fellow Aprilia in front of him at the first corner, was unable to hold on to second place for long. He made a mistake at Musee on lap three and that was enough to allow Bagnaia past him. That was also that as far as the battle for the runner-up medal was concerned, with Bagnaia riding an undramatic race to come home behind Martin. 

Bezzecchi also kept it steady and faced no threats as he brought his machine home in third place – just his second sprint finish of the season. 

Marc Marquez never looked on the pace despite his heroics in qualifying earlier in the day. He was something of a sitting duck after being in the mix at the first corner, and by lap six he found himself in seventh place, behind Pedro Acosta (KTM), Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Joan Mir (Honda). 

While he then appeared to settle down behind that trio, which held station until the end, Marquez suffered a huge shock on the penultimate lap when he highsided his Ducati in possibly the most spectacular crash of the season so far. Although he was able to get back on his feet, he was seen limping in the paddock and had to visit the medical centre for check-ups.

That exit left Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia), Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) to take the remaining points-paying positions.

Fabio Di Giannantonio was another crash victim, but his day had already been ruined after another horror start aboard the VR46 Ducati.

French Grand Prix - Sprint results

SPRINT

All Stats

 

Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Retirement	Points
1	J. Martin Aprilia Racing Team	89		Aprilia	13	19'46.830				12
2	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63		Ducati	13	+1.107 19'47.937	1.107			9
3	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72		Aprilia	13	+2.786 19'49.616	1.679			7
4	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37		KTM	13	+3.808 19'50.638	1.022			6
5	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	13	+4.402 19'51.232	0.594			5
6	J. Mir Honda HRC	36		Honda	13	+4.630 19'51.460	0.228			4
7	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79		Aprilia	13	+5.670 19'52.500	1.040			3
8	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	13	+6.608 19'53.438	0.938			2
9	D. Moreira Team LCR	11		Honda	13	+10.368 19'57.198	3.760			1
10	J. Zarco Team LCR	5		Honda	13	+11.771 19'58.601	1.403
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