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Zarco heroic winner at Le Mans, relive the French MotoGP GP in live text

Relive the live commentary of the MotoGP French Grand Prix, the sixth round of the 2025 World Speed ​​Championship.

Published 11/05/2025 à 15:37

Cyprien Juilhard

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Zarco heroic winner at Le Mans, relive the French MotoGP GP in live text

© Michelin Motorsport

Johann Zarco won a crazy French Grand Prix, contested in changing conditions: his second victory in MotoGP is undoubtedly the most beautiful and a truly great sporting moment, which thrilled the Le Mans crowd and all television viewers. Relive the race with our live commentary.

The final classification of the French Grand Prix

MotoGP – French Grand Prix
Relive the race in live text

👋 Thank you all for following this crazy and emotional race on AUTOhebdo, with Johann Zarco's victory going down as a great moment in French sport. Have a great Sunday and see you soon on our website. 

15h29 - Fermin Aldeguer surprised to reach his first podium.

"I'm quite surprised to be honest. This morning in warm-up, when I saw the sky, I thought it was going to be difficult for me. I have very little experience in these conditions actually. But finally, lap after lap, I started to feel good. I benefited from a great pace. I'm on a podium in a Grand Prix again, I thank the whole Gresini team for this new result."

15h27 - Marc Marquez proud of his second place finish.

“It was a crazy race! The start was crazy too. Fortunately, the rule is now very clear for everyone thanks to the introduction of the new regulation point. I saw that my brother Alex fell, so it's now clear that in the championship I'm taking off. Despite all the strategies, Johann Zarco was really the fastest today. I tried to push for two laps but I saw that he was far away and still faster than me. I then tried to control Alex's comeback but he fell, so I found myself alone. It's really a race where you can lose a lot of points very quickly, but I stayed focused so it went well for me.”

 

15h24 - Zarco parents' tears of joy after their son's victory


15h20 - The first emotional reaction of the day's winner

“It’s hard to believe! I still don’t understand what’s going on. The last few laps were very long. I need a little time; it’s magical. With the rain tires at the beginning, it was tricky; I had to control them, I didn’t want to burn them. Then the rain came, and it got better and better. Marc was fast, but given the gap, all I had to do was control it. It’s magical. I never would have believed it would happen like this. There was this choice of tires, others deciding to pit for slicks. It was forecast that it was going to rain. Afterwards, we quickly burned the rain tires, but when everyone else burned them, I had the advantage, and that was a real treat. Waving to the crowd on the last lap is just exceptional. I feel like it’s something that happens once in a lifetime, and today is it.”


15h16 - If Johann Zarco's performance was sublime, Fermin Aldeguer's is also to be commended: the day after his podium in the Sprint, the rookie secured his first Grand Prix podium after a superb race. Starting 4th, he dropped back to 8th after a late bike change, then made a superb comeback to overtake Pedro Acosta in the closing laps and grab 3rd place.

15h14 - Johann Zarco is the first Frenchman to win the French GP in 71 years; you have to go back to 1954 to find a trace of a French success.

15h12 - The victory somersault, in front of white-hot stands


15h10 - Zarco's tearful communion with the audience


15h06 - Johann Zarco bursts into tears, as does his mother, as he heads to the grandstands of the Bugatti circuit to greet them. It's a truly emotional and sporting moment for the oldest member of the grid, who performs his traditional somersault.


The classification of the race 

🏁 THE DAY OF GLORY HAS ARRIVEDÉ ! JOHANN ZARCO WINS THE FRENCH MOTOGP GRAND PRIX! The stands erupt as the Frenchman crosses the line, winning ahead of Marc Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer!

 26/26 – LAST LAP OF THE RACE! Zarco's lead has grown to 20 seconds. 

25/26 – ONLY TWO LAPS TO GO: Johann Zarco held firm while Fermin Aldeguer closed in on Pedro Acosta, who was nearly two seconds slower per lap. The Gresini rookie took third place and headed for his first podium.

24/26 – Alex Marquez falls again! This time, his race is over: he will not score any points today and will leave his brother Marc with the opportunity to make a break in the championship.

24 / 26 - For the first time in his career, Johann Zarco invited his mother to come watch him race in a Grand Prix. The Cannes native may have chosen his day very well: he has three laps left for a truly thrilling ride.

23 / 26 - Johann Zarco now has a 17-second lead as the rain has eased. The track remains wet.

22 / 26 - Pedro Acosta inherits third place, five seconds ahead of Fermin Aldeguer, 4th.

21/26 – Alex Marquez makes a mistake! The championship leader arriving at Le Mans lost his podium, but managed to get back on the podium fairly quickly. He finished 6th.

20 / 26 - Miguel Oliveira crashed at the connecting bend. The Portuguese rider was not injured, having been sidelined for two months with a shoulder injury.

19 / 26 - The provisional classification

18 / 26 - Aldeguer overtakes Oliveira to take 6th place. The rookie is comfortable despite an increasingly wet track.

17 / 26 - Please note that it is now raining heavily in some sections of the circuit. You must be extra vigilant.

17/26 – Zarco’s lead increases again! He has a 12-second lead over Marc Marquez.

16 / 26 - It's a great day for the test riders: Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia), who's replacing Jorge Martin, is currently 10th. Meanwhile, Takaaki Nakagami is making the most of the Wild Card offered by Honda this weekend: the Japanese rider, a former teammate of Zarco at LCR, is in a fine 8th place behind Fermin Aldeguer, who has fallen back in the rankings by taking too long to change bikes.

15 / 26 - Johann Zarco has won only one Grand Prix in his MotoGP career: in Australia in 2023, when he rode a Ducati for the satellite Pramac team.

14 / 26 - The Frenchman is the fastest on the track despite his colossal lead: he extends the gap to 10 seconds with Marc Marquez. A Frenchman may win this race, and not the one we expected!

13 / 26 - Johann Zarco takes a turn on Enea Bastianini.

12 / 26 - Pedro Acosta takes 4th place from Miguel Oliveira, who has no rhythm at all.

11 / 26 - Zarco widens the gap: the LCR Honda rider has a nine-second lead. Be careful not to overdo it, but for the moment, Marc Marquez isn't coming back.

11 / 26 - Enea Bastianini suffered a double long lap for speeding in the pit lane. He was 15th after his crash.

10 / 26 - There were numerous crashes during the final laps, including for Enea Bastianini (KTM Tech3), Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), Franco Morbidellu (Ducati VR46), Jack Miller (Yamaha Pramac) and Brad Binder (KTM), who fell for a second time.

9 / 26 - Johann Zarco is 8 seconds ahead of Marc Marquez, who took second place. Now, no mistakes are needed if we hope to see a Frenchman win at Le Mans for the first time in 71 years.

9 / 26 - The provisional classification

8/26 – JOHANN ZARCO IS THE LEADER! The Frenchman has a golden opportunity to pull off the coup of the century: he has a colossal lead over Miguel Oliveira, 2nd. 

7 / 26 - Johann Zarco's big move? The Frenchman has been on rain tires since the start and should therefore take the lead when the leaders come into the pits!

7 / 26 - The Marquez brothers in the pits! They switch to rain tires while Lorenzo Savadori finds himself on the provisional podium: what a crazy race!

6 / 26 - Fermin Aldeguer finds himself in the lead after Marc Marquez's second long lap and a small mistake from Alex Marquez, who missed his turn.

6 / 26 - It's raining at Le Mans: Pedro Acosta and Maverick Viñales dive into the pits to change bikes.

5/26 – FALL OF FABIO QUARTARARO ! Terrible for the poleman who falls alone, while Brad Binder, who was just behind him, also fell... Marc Marquez remains in the lead, but he is a long time behind the others.

4 / 26 - Fermin Aldeguer takes second place from Marquez, but he completes his long lap, like his teammate Alex Marquez. Quartararo finds himself second behind Marc, who has not yet completed his long lap.

3 / 26 - Quartararo makes his first long lap and comes out provisionally 4th.

2 / 26 - Alex Marquez takes second place from his brother Marc, who hasn't had much pace at the start of the race. Aldeguer will likely attack in turn. Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo has a lead of more than a second.

2 / 26 - Marini, Bezzecchi and Rins, who had started on rain tires, returned to the pits to change bikes and put on slicks.

1 / 26 - Fabio Quartararo has taken the lead from Marc Marquez and is ahead of the Spaniard and his brother Alex. The Frenchman is widening the gap!

14:13 PM – 🟢​ IT'S ON AT LE MANS! Marc Marquez takes the lead as Pecco Bagnaia crashes and sends Zarco off the track! 

14:10 p.m. – Drivers return to the pits to finally switch to slicks! There are nine on the grid, including Bagnaia and Zarco. The others will have to complete a double long lap during the race, but are starting on slicks that may be more suitable.

14h08 - The drivers leave the pits and take their places on the grid after a second warm-up lap, with Quartararo the last to leave his garage.

14h05 - A quick start procedure will be implemented: at 14:08 p.m., the drivers will have sixty seconds to take to the starting grid. Only one person per driver is allowed alongside them. They will then set off for a second warm-up lap before the race is reduced by one lap, from 27 to 26 laps.

14:04 p.m. – Fabio Quartararo narrowly missed crashing on the warm-up lap, where he locked his front wheel.

14h02 - 🚩All riders are pitting for a bike change. A red flag for excessive numbers of riders in the pit lane. A second warm-up lap will be held in a few moments.

14h01 - Everyone is on slicks, but the white flag is waving! It will be a flag-to-flag race.

14 p.m. – Warm-up lap! 

13:57 p.m. – Record attendance in Le Mans! With 311 spectators, this is the first GP to have seen over 797 spectators: a huge popular success that has been evident since Friday, with the stands constantly full.

13h56 - Our reporter on the ground informs us that it continues to rain lightly, but not enough for the moment to use rain tires. The drivers will normally start on dry tires.

13h54 - You have to go back to 1954 to find a Frenchman winning the French GP. That was Pierre Monneret. Fabio Quartararo, who already started from pole in 2021, has a great opportunity to join him on the list of winners, but it looks like it's going to be a difficult task given the Ducati's racing pace.

13h53 - Johann Zarco is preparing to take the start of his ninth French GP.

13h50 - The Marseillaise rings out at the Bugatti circuit. Manon Apithy, fencing gold medalist at the Paris Games, carries the French flag as tensions mount for Fabio Quartararo.

13h48 - The first drops of rain are falling at Le Mans. The weather could play tricks on the drivers and offer us a flag-to-flag race.

13h46 - Fabio Quartararo starts from pole position ahead of the Marquez brothers, while Johann Zarco is 11th. Is this a glorious day for the Nice driver, who has never won his national race?

13h45 - Hello everyone, welcome to AUTOhebdo.fr to follow the MotoGP French Grand Prix live!

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