Marc Marquez still undefeated in 2025 MotoGP sprints, Bagnaia crashes

Ducati MotoGP rider Marc Marquez dominated the French Grand Prix sprint at Le Mans to reclaim the 2025 points lead.

A crash for Pecco Bagnaia meant the Marquez brothers were put in prime position to reinforce their positions at the sharp end of the championship, and they duly delivered, both working their way past poleman Fabio Quartararo.

Leading finishers
1 M Marquez
2 A Marquez
3 Aldeguer

Marc was already past Quartararo immediately off the line but went inside-to-outside through the Dunlop Curve, opening the door to a Quartararo counter-attack.

And the Yamaha's early burst of pace was strong, Quartararo pulling more than half a second clear, though this was swiftly proven an early-race mirage.

Marc reeled him in and spent a couple of laps sizing him up, those laps allowing the younger Marquez to join the fight, too.

But though Marc's lap six lunge down the Dunlop chicane was countered expertly by Quartararo, the home hero had no answer further into the lap at Garage Vert. And when Alex lost time having to check up behind Quartararo on entry into Garage Bleu, the victory battle was as good as over.

The younger Marquez did work his way past Quartararo a lap and a bit later, at the end of the main straight, but could only make up a Marquez 1-2 from there.

It means the pair are now two points apart in the standings in Marc's favour.

And a home podium went begging for Quartararo, too, with Alex Marquez's Gresini team-mate Fermin Aldeguer also having superior late-race pace.

Aldeguer, who was yet to score a podium in MotoGP before this race, soon attacked Quartararo into the Dunlop chicane, but was pushed wide and back down to fourth at La Chapelle.

His reply was an even more forceful move into Musee that secured him the podium for good.

Aldeguer then bizarrely managed to crash on the slowing down lap on the way to his first MotoGP podium celebration, in an extremely low-speed impact with Marc Marquez.

It's a podium that perhaps should've been Bagnaia's, after the two-time champion defeated Aldeguer in a duel into La Chapelle on the opening lap - an overtake that was immediately rendered irrelevant when Bagnaia crashed coming into the Dunlop chicane on lap two.

Another rider also quickly dropped out of the top-five battle as Marco Bezzecchi went off through the gravel while chasing Aldeguer into Garage Vert.

Those calamities set up an all-KTM battle for fifth, with Maverick Vinales stuck behind Pedro Acosta after getting boxed in on entry into the Dunlop chicane on the opening lap - and Brad Binder right behind the pair, at least until he crashed out at Chemin aux Boeufs on the fourth lap, losing the rear and just narrowly avoiding a bad highside.

Vinales tried an obviously-doomed lunge on Acosta on lap nine of 13, which didn't come off, then went wide at Chemin aux Boeufs on the final lap, seemingly handing the position to Acosta.

Acosta then handed it back by crashing at the final corner of the race.

The KTM rider's exit promoted Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) to sixth, Zarco having fought off Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) - who made his way up from 17th on the grid

Former Suzuki team-mates Alex Rins (now at Yamaha) and Joan Mir (now at Honda) completed the points.

Di Giannantonio's VR46 team-mate Franco Morbidelli had a terrible hop off the start and never really recovered from the back of the field.

Honda wildcard Taka Nakagami was 16th on his MotoGP return, while Miguel Oliveira (Pramac Yamaha) was 20th on his return from injury, having run off through the gravel like Bezzecchi at one point.

Full results

1 Marc Marquez (Ducati)
2 Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati)
3 Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati)
4 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
5 Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM)
6 Johann Zarco (LCR Honda)
7 Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati)
8 Alex Rins (Yamaha)
9 Joan Mir (Honda)
10 Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia)
11 Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha)
12 Luca Marini (Honda)
13 Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM)
14 Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia)
15 Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati)
16 Taka Nakagami (Honda)
17 Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia)
18 Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia)
19 Pedro Acosta (KTM)
20 Miguel Oliveira (Pramac Yamaha)
DNF Brad Binder (KTM)
DNF Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati)