It’s most likely honest to say that of all of the issues we anticipated from the French Grand Prix this yr, one among them wasn’t Jorge Martin emphatically defeating all rivals in each races.
But that’s precisely what the MotoGP factors chief managed on a weekend wherein the sequence’ established characters had been all on the sharp finish however a number of we anticipated to function alongside them had been nowhere to be seen.
Whereas it was an awesome weekend for Ducati’s title-hunting trio, there have been some correct disasters on the opposite aspect of the coin, as mirrored in our common rider rankings.
Scoring the grid so as primarily based on their performances not simply in the principle occasion but in addition Saturday’s dash race, it’s clearly all subjective – however comes not simply from their last race outcome however considering issues just like the equipment they’re on and the pre-race expectations.
1 Jorge Martin
Began: 1st Dash: 1st Completed: 1st
The right weekend for the championship chief, and one that ought to terrify Martin’s opponents not simply due to his pace however as a result of it was one more instance of his shortly growing racecraft.
Martin wasn’t simply quick, he additionally performed it sensible on Sunday by utilizing Bagnaia as a device to withstand a steamroller assault coming from a quickly advancing Marc Marquez.
It paid off in grand kind with a most 37-point haul and one other reminder to Ducati of why he must be its guess for the longer term.
2 Marc Marquez
Began: thirteenth Dash: 2nd Completed: 2nd
When most riders have a horrible Friday and wrestle to qualify nicely, they’re just about pressured to just accept their lot in life and take what they will from the weekend.
No person advised Marc Marquez that, although, and the best way that he made up locations from thirteenth on the grid was a murals in each races.
He is not simply arguably Ducati’s quickest rider (given the year-old bike he’s on) but in addition a title contender, one we’re witnessing the perfect model of for 5 years. That ought to concern his rivals.
3 Fabio Di Giannantonio
Began: 4th Dash: seventh Completed: sixth
Whereas what briefly seemed like a podium problem from Fabio di Giannantonio at Le Mans finally didn’t come to go, it was nonetheless a welcome weekend for the Italian given it got here with an necessary return to kind and a conclusive outclassing of his VR46 team-mate Marco Bezzecchi.
It is one thing to construct off quite than an finish outcome, so far as he’s involved. It’ll be attention-grabbing to see if this type of kind is one thing Di Giannantonio can again up now – particularly along with his and the staff’s residence race at Mugello only some weeks away.
4 Enea Bastianini
Began: tenth Dash: 4th Completed: 4th
A good weekend however not an awesome one – and one which gained’t be adequate for Enea Bastianini to retain his manufacturing facility seat subsequent yr, contemplating he completed behind each of the opposite candidates for it.
There was a podium on the playing cards on Sunday, and perhaps even a win given his race tempo, however a little bit of a lunge of an overtake on Aleix Espargaro meant a protracted lap penalty he actually might have executed with out.
5 Pecco Bagnaia
Began: 2nd Dash: DNF Completed: third
On one hand, a Sunday podium is at all times a very good factor. However whenever you’re the reigning world champion and making an attempt to shut down a factors hole to your major title contender, ending two locations behind him is a little bit of a catastrophe.
Once you mix Pecco Bagnaia’s defeat by each Martin and Marquez along with his unexplained Saturday technical DNF within the dash race, Le Mans as an entire is the type of weekend that he merely can’t afford to be having proper now.
6 Maverick Vinales
Began: third Dash: third Completed: fifth
Le Mans delivered an honest weekend for Vinales, the kind that 12 months in the past the Aprilia racer would have been very content material with.
The issue is that expectations have moved on since then and, on condition that the French circuit was one among his unofficial targets for high degree performances, the truth that he ended it with a single dash race podium and tempo that wasn’t fairly sufficient to problem for the highest three on Sunday will probably be undoubtedly disappointing for him.
7 Pedro Acosta
Began: seventh Dash: sixth Completed: DNF
Even rookie sensations make errors, and Pedro Acosta’s first race crash in MotoGP was at all times solely a matter of time.
It got here due to operating out of expertise whereas pushing his Tech3-run bike exhausting on the staff’s residence race – and whereas he might need been upset afterwards given the potential he felt was there, he is not left France with anybody considering any much less of him, particularly after an honest dash efficiency 24 hours earlier than.
8 Aleix Espargaro
Began: sixth Dash: fifth Completed: ninth
Sadly for Aleix Espargaro, there was undoubtedly extra on supply this weekend than his outcomes present.
He demonstrating first rate if not improbable pace all through the weekend, however received unfortunate greater than as soon as to finish up fifth within the dash and was a disappointing ninth in the principle occasion after multiple rider caught a tough go on him.
Nevertheless, with exhausting passing being the secret nowadays, there’s just a little aspect of him not fairly coming again the best way he ought to have.
9 Fabio Quartararo
Began: eighth Dash: tenth Completed: DNF
It’s exhausting to place into phrases simply how a lot stress Fabio Quartararo was underneath at Le Mans, with the 2021 world champion lining up in entrance of a record-breaking residence crowd determined to see him succeed on a motorbike that wasn’t able to such heights.
He pushed method past the Yamaha’s restrict on Sunday, but it surely’s exhausting to argue along with his post-race logic that it was higher to crash out of the highest six than end outdoors the highest 10 on condition that it was all concerning the present for him in France.
Quartararo may not have scored any factors, however at the very least he gave the followers one thing to be ok with.
10 Johann Zarco
Began: fifteenth Dash: thirteenth Completed: twelfth
Johann Zarco got here into his residence race carrying the expectations of a sellout crowd on his shoulders regardless of the struggles of the Honda, so it will have been very simple for the Le Mans weekend to have resulted in catastrophe.
Whereas he didn’t ship some type of fairytale ending, to present him his dues he placed on a strong present for the large crowd by as soon as once more demonstrating that he’s conclusively Honda’s finest performing racer proper now.
It may not have been podium competition, but it surely was sufficient to sate the followers and show that he’s undoubtedly nonetheless received the expertise.
11 Miguel Oliveira
Began: twelfth Dash: eleventh Completed: DNF
Sadly for Miguel Oliveira, what an honest Sunday outcome that he badly wanted was snatched away from him by one thing out of his management – as he grew to become the newest sufferer of mechanical issues inside Aprilia’s satellite tv for pc squad Trackhouse.
Such points are painfully commonplace nowadays, and on this occasion denied him the type of strong top-six outcome that’s been desperately lacking these days by way of no fault of his personal.
12 Franco Morbidelli
Began: ninth Dash: twelfth Completed: seventh
One other first rate weekend of constructing himself again into being a MotoGP racer for Franco Morbidelli after each a disastrous few years at Yamaha after which a 2024 testing programme worn out by damage.
He is clearly not totally in control but, which appears partly to be inflicting him to power greater than he ought to – the primary results of which, within the case of Le Mans, was one more high-profile – if unseen – incident involving Espargaro.
There’s extra to return, however till it arrives Morbidelli stays just a little ragged.
13 Raul Fernandez
Began: 14th Dash: ninth Completed: eleventh
Le Mans was, to be sincere, one thing of a catastrophe for Raul Fernandez – and what makes it worse is that he actually wasn’t certain afterwards why issues had gone so badly fallacious.
Having anticipated extra after Aprilia’s robust 2023 performances on the Bugatti circuit, he couldn’t step up to speed.
That is lower than superb timing because the foolish season begins to focus its attentions on what is going to occur on the sequence’ satellite tv for pc squads now the manufacturing facility spots are beginning to refill.
14 Augusto Fernandez
Began: twentieth Dash: seventeenth Completed: thirteenth
For some time now, Augusto Fernandez has been fast to level out that he’s basically had a delayed begin to his 2024 season amid a fully disastrous testing programme and a wasted few opening rounds that he is solely now beginning to get better from.
To his credit score, Le Mans supported that idea as he as soon as once more moved in the correct course, exhibiting that whereas he’s not going to be matching his sensational Tech3 team-mate Acosta any time quickly, higher issues are potential than what we’ve seen up to now.
15 Taka Nakagami
Began: nineteenth Dash: sixteenth Completed: 14th
MotoGP’s grasp of survival as soon as once more walks away with a strong outcome.
There’s maybe nobody higher at popping out of attritional races with a number of factors than Taka Nakagami and, regardless of the struggles of Honda proper now, the energy of his expertise appears to be figuring out simply how exhausting to push to each ship outcomes and keep on the bike.
16 Brad Binder
Began: twenty second Dash: fifteenth Completed: eighth
For a very long time now, riders have been insisting that Fridays decide your complete weekend contemplating how lacking out on a Q2 spot can sabotage every part. Brad Binder gave us a textbook instance of that at Le Mans.
Messing up first observe after which qualifying, he began useless final – and whereas his Sunday restoration of 14 locations was very spectacular, it wasn’t adequate for a manufacturing facility racer who ought to have by no means discovered himself in that place to start with.
17 Marco Bezzecchi
Began: fifth Dash: DNF Completed: DNF
Fairly merely an unmitigated catastrophe for the VR46 Ducati rider, with Marco Bezzecchi Le Mans like somebody pushing himself out of his consolation zone to attempt to ship some much-needed outcomes.
That didn’t go the best way he needed it to, although, and whereas he might need been quick all weekend lengthy, it’ll be the double crash from two races that’s remembered, not his pace.
18 Joan Mir
Began: 18th Dash: DNF Completed: DNF
One other full catastrophe for Joan Mir and not using a single end, a development that’s sadly changing into extra widespread for the 2020 world champion.
Nevertheless, he is nonetheless arguably the quickest of the Hondas. These crashes look like they’re coming as a result of he’s nonetheless pushing as exhausting as he can each time the lights exit. Full marks for dedication, but it surely’s a disgrace he’s getting nothing in return for it.
19 Jack Miller
Began: eleventh Dash: eighth Completed: DNF
A quite typical Jack Miller weekend, the place he was quick sufficient in qualifying to outperform KTM team-mate Binder, capable of maintain on within the dash for a number of factors, and left with nobody however himself guilty when he crashed out of the principle occasion.
Sadly, it’s additionally one more weekend the place he was made to look fairly common by rookie stablemate Acosta, one thing that when once more does not bode nicely in any respect for his future.
20 Alex Marquez
Began: seventeenth Dash: 14th Completed: tenth
A frankly disappointing weekend for Alex Marquez. Actually the one constructive about it’s that Bezzecchi’s crashes meant he wasn’t the worst of the Ducati GP23s within the outcomes – however he was definitely the slowest.
He by no means actually discovered his toes after a poor Friday, and didn’t appear to have a lot of an thought why that was the case, which is at all times a worrying place for a rider to search out themselves in.
21 Alex Rins
Began: sixteenth Dash: DNF Completed: fifteenth
One other tough weekend for Yamaha’s new signing. There isn’t a lot to say about Alex Rins’s performances apart from he’s fortunate to have taken residence a degree on Sunday extra by way of the misfortune of others than the rest.
One way or the other managing to penalise himself with a protracted lap penalty for reducing a nook whereas operating final, it was an honest comeback to at the very least haul within the Repsol Honda of Luca Marini – even when it was harm management from a scenario he positioned himself in.
22 Luca Marini
Began: twenty first Dash: 18th Completed: sixteenth
Maybe the much less mentioned about Marini’s weekend the higher. Not simply sluggish on the Honda however virtually embarrassingly far behind everybody else on the grid now, essentially the most telling a part of his weekend is that Rins obtained a protracted lap penalty whereas operating final behind Marini and nonetheless managed to beat him.
There’s an entire lack of efficiency coming from Marini, and we will solely hope that the information and suggestions he’s offering helps Honda to plot a path out of this mess.
