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.RiderNumNationPointsTeamConstructorTime/Gap
1Zarco Johann5FRA25LCR HondaHonda45’47.541
2Marquez Marc93SPA20Ducati Lenovo TeamDucati19.907
3Aldegeur Fermin54SPA16Team Gresini Racing MotoGPDucati26.532
4Acosta Pedro37SPA13Red Bull KTM Factory RacingKTM29.631
5Vinales Maverick25SPA11Red Bull KTM Tech 3KTM38.136
6Nakagami Takaaki30JPN10HRC Test TeamHonda59.527
7Fernandez Raul25SPA9Trackhouse RacingAprilia1’10.302
8Di Giannantonio Fabio49ITA8Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing TeamDucati1’10.363
9Savadori Lorenzo32ITA7Aprilia RacingAprilia1’25.793
10Ogura Ai79JPN6Trackhouse RacingAprilia1’26.529
11Marini Luca10ITA5Honda HRC CastrolHonda1’32.535
12Rins Alex42SPA4Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPYamaha1’35.357
13Bastianini Enea23ITA3Red Bull KTM Tech 3KTM1 Lap
14Bezzecchi Marco72ITA2Aprilia RacingAprilia1 Lap
15Morbidelli Franco21ITA1Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing TeamDucati1 Lap
16Bagnaia Francesco63ITA0Ducati Lenovo TeamDucati1 Lap
17Marquez Alex73SPADNFTeam Gresini Racing MotoGPDucatiDNF
18Oliveira Miguel88PORDNFPrima Pramac YamahaYamahaDNF
19Binder Brad33RSADNFRed Bull KTM Factory RacingKTMDNF
20Miller Jack43AUSDNFPrima Pramac YamahaYamahaDNF
21Quartararo Fabio20FRADNFMonster Energy Yamaha MotoGPYamahaDNF
22Mir Joan36SPADNFHonda HRC CastrolHondaDNF

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