Honda HRC wins again amid dramatic French GP

Honda HRC wins again amid dramatic French GP

Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit, France – May 12, 2025 – The Honda RC213V was back on the top step of the podium thanks to Johann Zarco with Luca Marini close to the top ten in a dramatic race. Joan Mir heads for further checks after a heavy fall

Rain just before the start of the 27-lap French GP once again sent much of the MotoGP World Championship into a last-minute flurry as riders and teams assessed the possibilities of wets or slicks. Having shown strong pace in a wet Warm Up, both Honda HRC Castrol riders were eager to start and show their speed.

With the rain coming and going, the entire MotoGP field dove into the pits after the warm up lap and triggered a red flag and quick restart. Beginning on wets, Marini would switch to slicks on the second lap of the now 26 lap French GP. But continually changing conditions meant the #10 would be back in on lap eight to return to wets. From here, Marini matched the pace of the top five as he picked his way through the field. Crossing the line in 11th, he collected yet more points and sits 13th in the World Championship standings, just a single point behind Bezzecchi.

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Joan Mir was utterly luckless in the race, caught up at the first chicane with Bagnaia, Zarco and Bastianini. Falling heavily, the 2020 MotoGP World Champion was taken to local hospital for further checks. Suffering a fracture in his right hand and neck pain, his condition will be updated in the following days.

It was home hero Johann Zarco who stole the day as he returned the Honda RC213V to the top step of the podium for the first time since the 2023 Americas GP. The Honda LCR rider sent the record-breaking French crowd into a frenzy and has written an unforgettable moment in the history of Honda HRC.

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With the weekend’s results, Honda now move to second in the Constructor World Championship, nine points clear of KTM.

Commenting after the sprint, Luca Marini said, “First of all congratulations to Honda HRC and to Zarco for the result, we have all been working very hard to achieve this. Today was a big opportunity and I am honestly really frustrated because I made almost every decision in the opposite way. It’s a big pity, of course after the race it’s easy to say ‘staying on wets would have been the best’ but I made a really good start off the line and we were fast, but the weather changed back and forth. I had a good feeling once it all settled down and I was able to be quite fast, but we lost too much time with the changes. Without these mistakes Zarco showed what was possible.”

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French GP- Race Results:

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 25 LCR Honda Honda 45’47.541
2 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 20 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 19.907
3 Aldegeur Fermin 54 SPA 16 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 26.532
4 Acosta Pedro 37 SPA 13 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 29.631
5 Vinales Maverick 25 SPA 11 Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 38.136
6 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN 10 HRC Test Team Honda 59.527
7 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA 9 Trackhouse Racing Aprilia 1’10.302
8 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 8 Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati 1’10.363
9 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 7 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 1’25.793
10 Ogura Ai 79 JPN 6 Trackhouse Racing Aprilia 1’26.529
11 Marini Luca 10 ITA 5 Honda HRC Castrol Honda 1’32.535
12 Rins Alex 42 SPA 4 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1’35.357
13 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 3 Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 1 Lap
14 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA 2 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 1 Lap
15 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 1 Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati 1 Lap
16 Bagnaia Francesco 63 ITA 0 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 1 Lap
17 Marquez Alex 73 SPA DNF Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati DNF
18 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR DNF Prima Pramac Yamaha Yamaha DNF
19 Binder Brad 33 RSA DNF Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM DNF
20 Miller Jack 43 AUS DNF Prima Pramac Yamaha Yamaha DNF
21 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA DNF Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha DNF
22 Mir Joan 36 SPA DNF Honda HRC Castrol Honda DNF

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