After the Tissot Sprint on Saturday, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) added an extra 12 points to his Championship tally. All eyes now turn to the French GP on Sunday, with Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) aiming to make another great start from 13th on the grid and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) looking for redemption after a DNF in the Sprint. Ducati will also aim to continue their win streak at Le Mans, so make sure you have a look below at 10 amazing facts that must know ahead of the French GP.
1. Jorge Martin, who crashed in Q2, has qualified on pole position for the second time this year along with Qatar, setting a new all-time lap record at Le Mans. He will now aim to take his seventh MotoGP™ win and equal Loris Capirossi for fourth place on the list of the most successful Ducati riders in MotoGP™, in addition to trying to continue Ducati’s impressive winning streak at Le Mans.
2. Reigning Champion and on pole over the last two years at Le Mans, Francesco Bagnaia, who also crashed in Q2, has qualified second for his first top three in qualifying in 2024. He will be aiming to take his first MotoGP™ win at Le Mans, and first podium - his best result in the class here is P4 set in 2021.
3. Maverick Viñales has qualified third for his third top three in qualifying so far this season along with Portugal (where he won the Sprint) and Americas (when he took his first GP win with Aprilia as part of a triple). He will now be aiming to take his 11th MotoGP™ GP win.
4. THEIR FIRST AT LE MANS? - Aprilia and KTM/GASGAS riders will be aiming to give their manufacturer(s) their first win at Le Mans. So far, their best result here is P3.
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio has qualified fourth for his best qualifying result since he was second on the grid in Qatar last year, where he also went on to take his maiden MotoGP™ win. He will now be aiming to take his second premier class win or third podium.
6. 2023 French GP winner Marco Bezzecchi has qualified fifth, which is the third time he qualified within the top six so far this year. He will be aiming to take his fourth premier class win.
7. Aleix Espargaro qualified sixth despite a crash in Q2, for his second-best qualifying result so far this season after Qatar when he qualified second. On Sunday, he will be aiming to take his first podium since Catalunya last year (when he took his third GP win).
8. Rookie Pedro Acosta qualified seventh and missed the front two rows for the fourth time so far in MotoGP™. Aged just 19 years and 353 days old, he will aim to become the youngest rider to win in the premier class, taking the record away from Marc Marquez (20 years and 63 days old in Austin in 2013).
9. Fabio Quartararo (8e) and Johann Zarco (15e) could each become the second French rider to win at the French GP in the premier class along with Pierre Monneret in Reims in 1954, 70 years ago.
10. Marc Marquez has qualified 13th for his worst qualifying result in MotoGP™ at Le Mans. He will be aiming to win for the first time since Emilia-Romagna 2021 (931 days ago). It would be his first Grand Prix win with Gresini and Ducati.
Will we see a Ducati on the top step of the podium or will we see Aprilia or KTM/GASGAS claim their first win at Le Mans? To find out make sure you tune in on Sunday at 14:00 local time (UTC +2) to find out on motogp.com!