The Sprint Race delivered another tantalising show for the full house in Le Mans, Marc Marquez converting a magic front row to a strong fifth while Joan Mir works on finding further feeling.

Every inch of the Le Mans circuit was overflowing with passionate French fans as Saturday’s Grand Prix action began. Good weather combined with the roar of the crowd made for an incredible atmosphere as the 1000th Grand Prix weekend continued on and fans were treated to Qualifying and the Sprint.

Marc Marquez was back to his magic best in Qualifying for the French GP as he challenged for pole position immediately upon his return to competition. Having highlighted the front three rows of the grid as his target, the eight-time World Champion immediately went about surpassing that goal as he found himself well inside the top five after his first run in Qualifying. A 1’30.763 during the second half of Q2 would move Marquez into provisional pole, reigning World Champion Francesco Bagnaia able to go just 0.058s faster and have Marc line up second for both races.

The celebrations inside the Repsol Honda Team over the front row were short-lived as attentions immediately turned to the Sprint. From the front row, Marquez worked to stay in the leading group as the opening lap began, slotting himself just at the back of the podium fight. Battles with Binder and Bagnaia were highlights of the 13-lap race as the eight-time World Champion did his best to defend his position on track. Crossing the line in fifth place, Marquez collects solid points and most importantly gained valuable data for the HRC engineers.

On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage, Joan Mir spent his day continuing to work on finding further gains with the Honda RC213V. A 1’31.810 in Q1 saw the #36 take 16th on the grid recovering to 14th in a challenging Sprint race. There is still work to do for the double-World Championship and the Repsol Honda Team in order to improve his feeling and speed with the Honda, race laps the best way to make these steps.

The main event, the French Grand Prix, will begin at 14:00 Local Time and with even more fans expected to find their way into the circuit, it’s set to be a memorable milestone for MotoGP.

Marc Marquez

Fifth

“We had a good race today; it was nice to be back and riding. Being in the top five was our main target and we were able to achieve it, so the team and I are happy with this after so long away. Maybe if we had the perfect race in every aspect we could have battled for the podium, but Martin and Binder were really fast today. The biggest surprise today was the pace at the end of the race, I was gaining a lot of ground and feeling better on the bike with more and more laps. Tomorrow, we have another race so another chance to keep on learning and improving.”

Joan Mir

14th

“It was a hard race today to be honest, we have some areas we need to improve. I wasn’t able to exploit my maximum potential, both the team and I need to keep working to understand how to take the most from this bike. I am trying to change my style a bit to understand what works better, but we aren’t in the position we want to be at the moment. Tomorrow we have another race to keep on learning.”

MotoGP 2023
Sprint Race Round 5   France

French GP - Sprint Race

Dry
Humidity
62%
Track Temp
37°C
Air Temp
22°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 12 Pramac Racing Ducati 19'59.037
2 Binder Brad 33 RSA 9 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1.840
3 Bagnaia Francesco 1 ITA 7 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 2.632
4 Marini Luca 10 ITA 6 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 3.418
5 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 5 Repsol Honda Team Honda 3.541
6 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 4 Pramac Racing Ducati 4.483
7 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA 3 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 5.224
8 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 2 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 6.359
9 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 1 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 8.336
10 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN 0 LCR Honda Honda 9.439
11 Rins Alex 42 SPA 0 LCR Honda Honda 12.388
12 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 0 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 14.125
13 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 0 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 15.121
14 Mir Joan 36 SPA 0 Repsol Honda Team Honda 15.383
15 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 0 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 15.591
16 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA 0 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 19.415
17 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 0 RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia 16.992
18 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA DNF Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha DNF
19 Folger Jonas 94 GER DNF Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM DNF
20 Fernandez Augusto 37 SPA DNF Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM DNF
21 Miller Jack 43 AUS DNF Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM DNF
MotoGP 2023

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Bagnaia Francesco 1 ITA 94 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
2 Binder Brad 33 RSA 71 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
3 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA 68 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
4 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 60 Pramac Racing Ducati
5 Marini Luca 10 ITA 54 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
6 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 50 Pramac Racing Ducati
7 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 49 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
8 Miller Jack 43 AUS 49 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
9 Rins Alex 42 SPA 47 LCR Honda Honda
10 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 41 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
11 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA 40 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
12 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 34 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
13 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 31 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
14 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR 21 RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia
15 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 17 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
16 Fernandez Augusto 37 SPA 17 Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM
17 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN 14 LCR Honda Honda
18 Pedrosa Dani 26 SPA 13 KTM Test Team KTM
19 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 12 Repsol Honda Team Honda
20 Pirro Michele 51 ITA 5 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
21 Mir Joan 36 SPA 5 Repsol Honda Team Honda
22 Folger Jonas 94 GER 4 Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM
23 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA 3 RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia
24 Bradl Stefan 6 GER 2 Repsol Honda Team Honda
25 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA 0 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
26 Lecuona Iker 27 SPA 0 Repsol Honda Team Honda
27 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 0 RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia
28 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 0 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
Location Information

Built in 1965 around the existing 24-Hour track, the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit lies 5km south of the city of Le Mans and 200km south-west of Paris. The venue has hosted Grand Prix since the late sixties but a serious accident to Spanish rider Alberto Puig in… read more.

Length 4.185 kilometres / 2.6 miles
Width 13 metres
Left corners 5
Right corners 9
Longest straight 0.674 kilometres / 0.419 miles
Constructed 1966
Modified 2008
Resurfacing Resurfaced before 2017 round

Automobile Club de l'Ouest, Le Mans, France - View in Google Maps

www.lemans.org

Records

Pole Position 1m 30.450s (166.5km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2022)
Race Lap 1m 31.778s (164.1km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2022)
Race Time 41m 34.613s (163 km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2022)
2023 Race Winner Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati)
2023 Sprint Winner Jorge Martin (Ducat)