Le Mans MotoGP race

15:59 So, that'll be a wrap for us for this weekend.

I wrote after the previous race in Jerez that Marc Marquez, in his current form, doesn't need any help from his rivals - but he keeps getting it. Today, with crashes for Zarco and Dovizioso, was no exception.

The championship isn't over. It can't be, what with 14 races to go. But you'd have to be a brave soul to bet against Marquez seeing this one out.

Le Mans MotoGP: Marquez wins, Dovizioso and Zarco crash

Marc Marquez extended his MotoGP points lead with a relatively straightforward victory in the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, helped by crashes for Andrea Dovizioso and Johann Zarco.

15:55 Marquez: "Of course the race was tough, because the pace of everybody was very very close, but since I go out, I saw that the track was a little bit less grip than yesterday and especially this morning - and with the front tyre I was struggling.

"Happy because this victory is important in a circuit where normally we struggle."

15:54 Petrucci: "I know that the race could be very very difficult, because the heat now, we struggle a lot with the front tyre. But anyway, I manage the rear very very good. And then I just follow Marc. I try to copy all his speed and it works, and I'm very happy.

"Starting always from the first row is something more easy, but at the first corner I was fifth, as I predicted yesterday."

"It has been a difficult moment for me after two difficult races in Argentina and Austin, but now I'm very happy."

15:52 Rossi: "We improve a bit, we make the right tyre choice. I know that I was faster than Jerez. I want to try for the podium, because it's a result that's important for me, for my team, and for all Yamaha.

"And is okay, I'm very happy, because I can be fast for all the race. Was a good rhythm, I try with Petrucci, but Danilo was a little bit faster, so no way."

15:49 Current standings (top 10): 1 Marquez, 95; 2 Vinales, 59; 3 Zarco, 58; 4 Rossi, 56; 5 Petrucci, 54; 6 Miller, 49; 7 Iannone, 47; 8 Crutchlow, 48; 9 Dovizioso, 46; 10 Pedrosa, 29.

So, I guess, check out that battle for second?

15:46

15:44 Finishing order: 1 Marquez; 2 Petrucci; 3 Rossi; 4 Miller; 5 Pedrosa; 6 Lorenzo; 7 Vinales; 8 Crutchlow; 9 A Espargaro; 10 Rins; 11 P Espargaro; 12 Syahrin; 13 Morbidelli; 14 Smith; 15 Nakagami; 16 Luthi; 17 Abraham; 18 Simeon.

15:43 Petrucci second, Rossi third, then it's Miller, Pedrosa, Lorenzo.

15:42 Marc Marquez brings it home for his third straight win, and ends Yamaha's Le Mans streak in the process. A professional performance in a race that bordered on processional.

15:41 Crutchlow is on a bit of a mini-charge and is now through on Espargaro for eighth place, Vinales is probably out of reach.

15:40 Two laps to go. Going through the motions now.

15:39 Crutchlow, who had a massive crash in Q1 on Saturday and was in hospital overnight, is doing a very solid race here. He's just passed Rins for ninth.

15:38 Marquez fires in a 1m32.399s, which is quite close to his own best lap of the race and absolutely miles better than what anyone else is doing.

15:37 Over a second and a half between Marquez and Petrucci now.

15:36 As it stands, Marc Marquez will lead his nearest championship rival Maverick Vinales by 36 points after the first five races of the 2018 season.

15:35 Five laps to go. The top six looks settled - but is there still time for a late twist?

15:34 Tell you what, this is a monumental effort from Petrucci, who is at least keeping Marquez honest as he runs 1.2s behind.

15:33 Lorenzo a little wide at Garage Vert, allowing Pedrosa to dive down the inside and snatch fifth.

15:33 Vinales overtakes his Suzuki successor Rins at Turn 13, deals with former teammate Aleix Espargaro a couple of corners later.

15:31 The cameras have switched focus to the Morbidelli - Syahrin battle for P12 and the Smith - Nakagami battle for P14, which should tell you a lot about how the fight for victory is going.

15:29 The only close fight in the top six right now is between Lorenzo and Pedrosa for fifth, wit hthe Ducati man still just about hanging on.

15:27 1m32.312s from Marquez. Impolite.

15:27 Marquez picking up the pace with 10 laps left to run, he has now put a second between himself and Petrucci. Game over?

15:26 Current order: 1 Marquez; 2 Petrucci; 3 Rossi; 4 Miller; 5 Lorenzo; 6 Pedrosa; 7 A Espargaro; 8 Rins; 9 Vinales; 10 P Espargaro; 11 Crutchlow; 12 Morbidelli; 13 Syahrin; 14 Nakagami; 15 Smith; 16 Luthi; 17 Abraham; 18 Simeon.

15:25 Vinales is at least back into the top 10, running ninth now. He'll probably be fairly confident of picking off Alex Rins and then Aleix Espargaro, but there's some 11 seconds of clean air ahead of the Aprilia man.

15:23 Valentino Rossi fires in the fastest lap of the race, a 1m32.426s. Petrucci and Miller were within a tenth of that on the same lap.

15:22 Miller is through on Lorenzo for fourth, Pedrosa is next in line.

15:22 The gap between Marquez and Petrucci has remained at around six tenths for the last couple of laps.

15:20 Rossi up to third at Garage Vert - could he still feature in the victory battle?

15:20 There's 15 laps left to run, which is bad, bad news for Jorge Lorenzo, who looks to be struggling and is now having to fend off Rossi.

15:19 It doesn't look like Lorenzo can stay with Marquez and Petrucci here - but it's not entirely clear yet whether Petrucci can stay with Marquez.

15:18 Redding down at the Turn 7 left-hander.

15:17 Petrucci has picked off Lorenzo for second. Marquez is not checking out just yet.

15:16

15:16 There wasn't quite contact but only because Lorenzo picked up the bike as Marquez launched it down the inside.

15:15 Marquez barges his way past Lorenzo after the Ducati man runs wide!

15:15 Lorenzo is holding on to the lead still, but Marquez looks like he's simply biding his time. He might want to hurry up thought - Petrucci is with them.

15:15

15:14 Current order: 1 Lorenzo; 2 Marquez; 3 Petrucci; 4 Rossi; 5 Miller; 6 Pedrosa; 7 A Espargaro; 8 Morbidelli; 9 Rins; 10 P Espargaro; 11 Vinales; 12 Crutchlow; 13 Nakagami; 14 Syahrin; 15 Smith; 16 Redding; 17 Abraham; 18 Luthi; 19 Simeon; 20 Rabat.

15:13 He went wide at the Turn 8 Garage Vert right-hander and lost is as he tried to turn in. He's trying to remount now.