Jorge Martin passed Marco Bezzecchi on lap 25 of 27 to win at Le Mans, with Ai Ogura completing Aprilia’s first MotoGP podium lockout.
Martin completes his comeback at Le Mans
Jorge Martin won the 2026 French Grand Prix after charging back into contention and passing Aprilia Racing teammate Marco Bezzecchi for the lead on lap 25 of 27 at the Bugatti Circuit.
It was Martin’s first Sunday Grand Prix victory since the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix. The number 89 returned to the top step after the injury difficulties that defined his 2025 campaign.
Martin finished in 41 minutes and 18.001 seconds, 0.477 seconds clear of Bezzecchi. Ai Ogura crossed the line another 0.397 seconds back in third for Trackhouse MotoGP Team, sealing Aprilia’s first MotoGP podium lockout.
Martin had already won the Sprint before Sunday’s race. He carried that form into the Grand Prix, collecting 25 points by defeating his teammate and title rival.
Bezzecchi controls the opening 24 laps
Bezzecchi launched best from the front row and took the lead by Turn 3. Home favourite Fabio Quartararo rose to second during the opening exchanges and made contact with Pedro Acosta as they battled out of Turn 4.
Pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia fell to fourth. Fabio Di Giannantonio got away better than he had in the Sprint and settled into fifth, while Spanish Grand Prix winner Alex Marquez crashed out of the top 10 on lap two.
Acosta overtook Quartararo at Turn 11 and set off after Bezzecchi, but Bagnaia soon posed the greater threat. The Ducati rider dropped Quartararo to fourth on lap five, then recorded the race’s fastest lap by going 0.2 seconds quicker than Bezzecchi on that tour.
Bagnaia passed Acosta for second with a 0.9-second gap to close. Bezzecchi stayed in command and led laps one through 24.
Martin turns pursuit into victory
Martin faced a fight through the chasing group. Once past Quartararo, he became embroiled in a lap-nine battle with Di Giannantonio. Attempts at Turns 3 and 6 didn’t work, but Martin completed the move at Turn 7 and removed a key obstacle between himself and the leaders.
The second half required Martin to close the gap while preserving enough performance for an attack. Bezzecchi had controlled the pace for almost the whole afternoon, yet Martin steadily caught the Italian and reached striking distance in the closing stages.
Martin made the decisive pass on lap 25, overtaking his teammate to lead for the first time. He stayed ahead across the final three laps and beat Bezzecchi by less than half a second.
The 0.477-second margin reflected the timing of Martin’s move. He worked through the traffic, erased the deficit and attacked late enough to leave Bezzecchi without an answer.
Ogura seals historic Aprilia sweep
Ogura completed Aprilia’s exceptional result with a late charge of his own. The Trackhouse rider claimed his maiden MotoGP podium, finishing 0.874 seconds behind Martin as three Aprilia machines crossed the line within the first second.
Di Giannantonio led the non-Aprilia riders in fourth, 2.851 seconds behind Martin. Acosta followed just 0.140 seconds later in fifth, with Quartararo taking sixth after his promising start before the French crowd.
Enea Bastianini finished seventh ahead of Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez in eighth, putting four Aprilias inside the top eight. Fermin Aldeguer and Luca Marini rounded out the top 10. Johann Zarco placed 11th at his home Grand Prix.
Several riders failed to finish. Bagnaia crashed after 15 laps, while Brad Binder, Joan Mir and Diogo Moreira were also classified as non-finishers after accidents. Alex Marquez’s opening-lap retirement prevented him from building on his Spanish Grand Prix victory.
A major result for rider and manufacturer
Martin’s victory ended a drought dating to his title-winning 2024 season. It also came against the teammate he had not previously defeated in a Sunday race during 2026.
Aprilia showed its strength through the factory team and satellite partner. Martin and Bezzecchi secured a factory one-two, then Ogura’s breakthrough podium turned the manufacturer’s pace into an unprecedented clean sweep.
All three podium finishers were separated by 0.874 seconds. The next challenger arrived almost two seconds behind Ogura, leaving Aprilia’s three riders to settle the result after a race defined by late pressure.
Next stop: Catalonia
MotoGP now heads directly from France to the Catalan Grand Prix, scheduled for May 15-17 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Martin will reach Barcelona with the maximum 25 points from Sunday at Le Mans and fresh evidence that he can recover through the field to beat his principal teammate rival.
Bezzecchi departs France with 20 points for second after leading most of the race, while Ogura takes confidence from his first premier-class podium. Aprilia heads to Barcelona after producing a Le Mans result no rival manufacturer matched.
