2025 French GP Highlights 🌧️

It's lights out and we're racing him on a GP here in France, firing away on those slick tyres. He's pulsed out of Fabio Quattroro. Fermin Aldeguerre has made a blistering start as well on the podium yesterday in the sprint, but it's Marc Marquez though that will lead on the outside. He goes, toughing it out on the brakes with Quattroro into the Dunlop chicane, but it's Marc Marquez that leads on those slicks. That's Bagnola on the floor, knocked down by one of the KTMs into the Dunlop chicane. Bagnola was already plummeting backwards on his west and he's now been taken down. Well, that's the second time this weekend he's crashed out of race action at Turn 3. One of the factory Hondas got a real clattering in there as well. It was Juan Mir, unfortunately. Yeah, Juan Mir it was, unfortunately. It looked like he came out the worst of that one. It's a real pinch point in that Dunlop chicane, isn't it? When it rains, it pours, right? Just nothing seems to be going well for Peko at the moment. I think it was Binder that got in the side. No, Miller that got in the side of Binder as well in Turn 1. If they show a replay, look out for that. Yeah, Bastianini on the factory KTM has rejoined the race. At the front there, it's Quattroraro that leads, just as he did in the sprint here yesterday. I think Alex Marquez there, just indicating to Firmina. There's confirmation, Peko Bagnola then did crash as we knew he had done after the Dunlop chicane. For the first rider on West was Jack Miller. He's taken the line. Here's your confirmation on screen. There are about 10 riders. The riders who started all that from pit lane are Marquez Agura, Alex Marquez, Aldeguerre, Dijan Antonio, Acosta, Mir, Binder, Ralph Fernandez, Bastianini, Morvidelli, Quattroraro, the leader, and Vinales. All those riders I just listed off are going to get double long laps shortly. I can see your Rins, Bettecchi, and Marini there going out on their slick shod bikes now as Quattroraro now tips it into the museum corner. This is Turn 7. Does this mean that Savadori could end up leading the Grand Prix here at this point if they do their double long laps? Quite possibly. He's currently in 14th place. He's seven seconds off the race lead at the moment. Quattroraro, though, to his great credit, is scampering off at the front of this race as Bagnaia comes in for his bike change. But look at the lead that Fabio Quattroraro is pulling out. It's going to be over a second already on this second lap, and Marc Marquez has got enough on his plate from his younger brother at the moment. Yeah, that crash is so costly for Pekka Bagnaia. Metegi 2022 was the last time he went through the Grand Prix weekend without scoring a single point. Here comes Alex on the inside of Marc. 73 versus 93, which has been the story of 2025. Not a GP so far, hasn't it? That was going into Turn 11. So Alex then now up into second place, and Marc under big pressure here from Aldeguerre. Yeah, there's Quattroraro then. He's already in for the first of his two long laps. He'll sweep back out on the circuit just in front of that trio of KTMs. So of all of the riders with the double long laps, Quattroraro is the first to take his punishment. It's going to be difficult to follow this, isn't it? Working out which riders have taken one long lap, which have taken two, and which haven't taken any. You'd think it's a good one to join us, Bradley, because we need a third set of eyes in the commentary box here today just to keep abreast of what is happening. So Quattroraro then, having served the first of his two long laps. Still a way to go. That's Marc Marquez, lapping Bagnaia here. That's what's happening. Peko Bagnaia trying to stay out of the way, having made a bike change after a crash. And Wisely just making sure he tries not to get into the way of the leaders. Oh, there's a touch there as well between Marc and Aldeguerre. Had contact there. That was almost Marc's front tyre washed out going through turns. And we saw how aggressive Aldeguerre was going through. Alex Marquez, Fermin Aldeguerre and Vinales, I think it is, who've come through the long lap penalty loop. So Marquez still staying out there. Quattroraro also. And now, destroyed into mixes. Well, the rain's getting heavier again. Well, Marc Marquez looked like he lost the front on the way into turn. I don't know whether he was planning to go up the long lap penalty loop, but he ended up missing it because he had to go around the corner. Quattroraro, who, remember, has got a long lap in handy here Marc Marquez is right behind him again. Oh, Quattroraro and Binder. Quattroraro and Binder have gone down the final corner. Well, this is just one of the most dramatic Grand Prix's I've seen so far. Quattroraro has crashed down the final corner. Marquez in for the first of his double long lap penalties. He's immediately followed by Alex Aldeguerre as well. Vinales and Acosta. All hell has broken loose here, hasn't it, in Le Mans. Fabio Quattroraro, you could have heard the groans in Paris. You'd have heard the groans in Marseille after he crashed out at that final corner. Oh, Vinales. Acosta in again. Vinales, Acosta and Vinales. Jack Miller's going to be leading this race in a couple of laps. If all of these riders have to come up pit lane again for a second change. We're watching Jack Miller's sector times to see how far behind the race leader he is. Marc Marquez has just done a 1.41.8 on his slicks. He's now already on that lap with the long lap. He's still going seven seconds lap slower than he was a couple laps ago. Oh, and Alex is getting in hot there. Yeah, he's missed the penalty there. I think Alex has already maybe served his two, has he? Yeah, Alex Marquez has done his two long laps. He's inadvertently done a third there. He didn't want to be in there. Maybe his eye line was just caught by Marc ahead of him. So Fermin Aldeguerre now leads the French Grand Prix incredibly through all of the mayhem. I hope you're keeping up as well as we're trying to at home. Fermin Aldeguerre, I'm trying to come up with an idea of where he is with his long laps. He's served one of them, we believe. Yeah, double long laps have been completed by Alex Marquez. Bastienini has already done both of his. Yeah, Aldeguerre has only done one. Bastienini has been down for the second time by the looks of it in the last corner as well. Final corner again. Marquez brothers changing bikes. How do you try and cover off or write the story of this French Grand Prix in 2025? This now leaves Fermin Aldeguerre clear at the front of this Grand Prix. Marc and Alex clearly feel now it's just got too wet for slick tyres. They're back in then for rain rubber. Aldeguerre leads this race now by 12 seconds from Fabio Di Gianantonio who's now up to second place. Salvador is on the podium. Zarco is running in fifth place in this Grand Prix ahead of Miguel Oliveira. We can't find Jack Miller. Jack Miller's also gone down at some stage around the circuit because he's way down the order. That's the Binder crash coming through turn two. Aldeguerre now in for his bike change which will promote, unless he comes in, Di Gianantonio to the race lead. Masty on that for Binder going through that high-speed turn two. Aldeguerre then back in to complete the... well, change bikes now, isn't he? You can just see there in the background, was that Rins and Quattroraro frustratingly walking up pit lane? So the leading rider now on the wet tyres and which will certainly please the 100,000 French fans here, is Joan Zarco. He is your first rider on track on wet weather tyres. He is four seconds ahead of Miguel Oliveira who in turn is five seconds ahead of Marc Marquez. In all probability, Joan Zarco is your French Grand Prix leader right now. As always, for the second time, you can vote at home for your rider of the race. It might be a case of who's left in this Grand Prix at the end of it. Marquez then has got through. Marc through on Oliveira. That was... Well, we saw Oliveira. He was wide coming through. La Chapelle. So now there is Marc Marquez. Out he goes of Garage Vert. Oliveira is going to get pushed off the podium. Well, right now. That was coming. As Badly just said, he's suffering on that medium rear rain tyre. That cost Marc Marquez a bit of time though, having to navigate around Miguel Oliveira who was struggling. That lead has grown now for Joan Zarco as they come through the third sector. Here is the Frenchman in his lead. He's now up to 8.6 seconds over Marc Marquez. He's pulled out a further half second on this current lap. 10.4 seconds he is now clear of Marc in second place who's just holding that gap around 2.5 seconds. Back to his brother Alex. On board with Vinales. Over the line he goes with a career-long foe, Miguel Oliveira. These two have been locking horns together since their pre-Grand Prix days back in the feeder system in Spain. As Vinales coming from a long, long way back there. Through he goes on Oliveira. So that now will push Vinales back up into P5 once again. He took the chequered flag in the Sprint Estate in fifth place as they go side by side down through La Chapelle. Vinales just has the uphand through six. Fair play to Zarco. That last lap was still a mid 1.46. A 1.46.502 which was a second quicker than Alex in third place. The thick end of a second is well clear of Marc in second. This is a replay of the race start with Fabio Quattroro on that pole position. Oh, Alex Marquez has crashed out. Alex Marquez then. Alex Marquez. Well, he had a crash in the rain conditions this morning at the Dunlop Chicane in the warm-up session. And Alex Marquez then makes his first big mistake of 2025. The rear. Oh, the rear. Bradley, talk us through that. That's engine brake. So that's just, yeah, flicking it into the corner. Like I said, it could be that with this rain, just the temperatures coming out the side of it. But there's nothing really you can do. You're a passenger at that point. It just comes around and you have to just pray that it comes back. That's put Acosta now on the podium places, hasn't it? Here is Acosta then in third place. He's not got that podium secured yet, though. Aldeguer is catching him at over a second a lap. He took 1.2 seconds out of Acosta on that last lap. Gapped down to five seconds and already through the first sector on this lap. Through the first half of the lap, actually. He's taking another three tenths. Acosta's not got this third place secure yet. As Alex Marquez, we understand, has crashed for a second time, which might take him out of that sixth place. We understand it has. Turn 11 this time. That's the S-blur. And this time Alex Marquez is out of this Grand Prix. Aldeguer doesn't need to rush this. The rate at which he's caught Pedro Acosta. He can just pick his moment. The rear coming around there on Acosta as he flicks it left down towards the right of La Chapelle. And Fermin Aldeguer crawling all over the back of Acosta. You can see he's able to hold it so much tighter than that KTM. And he just drives past him on the way out of turn six. Yeah, that was taking candy off a baby, wasn't it? As far as Aldeguer was concerned. So he then moves back up into the podium places. Is there a double podium here in France for Fermin Aldeguer? What a weekend it would be for the number 54. We are on the last lap of this French Grand Prix. There are 4.19 kilometers standing between Johannes Arco and a moment of history. What an achievement this would be for Johannes Arco. 19.54. You just saw that on your screens. Pierre Monterey, all the way back in 1954. The last French winner of a MotoGP race in France. He has ridden perfectly. He has been faultless. He has been flawless. And is he about to win here in France? They can barely watch, can they? Tears all over your face. In the LCR Honda garage. The tears are flowing already inside Lucho. Checking Ello's box. He comes out of turn 10. Carl Crutchlow, Alex Rins, LCR Honda winners in MotoGP. But this one will have that extra special taste. There's Johannes Arco there now. Into turn 12 he goes. On course to be the first French rider in 71 years to win his home Grand Prix MotoGP. The fans are making incredible noise here. He's going to get a rapturous reception. The French fans are on their feet. He knows he's done it. It is magnifique. It is vive la France from Johannes Arco. He wins the French Grand Prix for the first time in over seven decades. The French fans celebrate a homegrown winner in the premier class. What a noise. What an atmosphere here it is in Le Mans as Arco wins his home Grand Prix. Marc Marquez, another postcode back. Nearly 20 seconds behind Arco at the chequered flag. Great job by Marc, though, in really testing conditions. And what about Fermin now? They get careful. He crashed after the sprint yesterday, didn't he? And when he ran into the back of Marc Marquez. That was close. Wow. So Johannes Arco rides home to a memorable home victory ahead of Marc Marquez with Fermin Alaguer pinching the last podium place off of Pedro Acosta laid on. Maverick Vinales comes home in fifth. Takenaka Gami is in sixth place, ahead of Raul Fernandes, Dejan Antonio, Salvadori and Ayagura complete the top ten.