Marquez Makes It Six Straight in Le Mans Sprint

Another all-Ducati podium, but this time it’s Aldeguer behind the brothers as Bagnaia crashes out

Marc Márquez claimed his sixth consecutive Sprint race win with another masterclass at Le Mans, easing ahead of home hero Fabio Quartararo and brother Alex Márquez to take the top step and the championship lead. The factory Ducati rider timed his attack to perfection and pulled clear in the second half of the race, leading a dominant Ducati 1–2–3 with rookie Fermín Aldeguer taking a maiden podium.

As the lights went out, it was Márquez who grabbed the holeshot from the front row, but he ran wide into the opening chicane, allowing Quartararo to slide past and ignite the home crowd. Behind them, a fast-starting Francesco Bagnaia launched into fourth, only for his race to end on Lap 2 with a crash at Turn 3.

With Bagnaia out, Quartararo pressed his advantage. The Yamaha rider opened a lead of nearly a second after the opening two laps, thrilling the packed French grandstands. But Márquez regrouped and began closing the gap, clocking the fastest lap as he reeled in the #20 Yamaha.

By Lap 4, Márquez was latched onto Quartararo’s tail, and the battle was on. Into the chicane on Lap 6, Marc showed Fabio a wheel and made a move — only for Quartararo to return serve immediately on the exit. The crowd roared, but the resistance was short-lived. A few corners later at Garage Vert, Márquez attacked again and made it stick. Alex Márquez was impatient to squeeze past Quartararo as well and nearly ran into the back of the Yamaha.

From that point, Marc controlled the race. He steadily edged clear while Alex eventually dispatched Quartararo as well, using a strong exit from the final corner to make the move into Turn 1 on Lap 8.

With the lead duo away, Quartararo fell into the clutches of an aggressive Fermín Aldeguer. The rookie, already impressing with top speed, didn’t hold back. On Lap 10, the pair rubbed elbows through Turns 3 and 5 before Aldeguer muscled past at Museum corner. Quartararo was forced to stand the Yamaha up to avoid contact and ceded the final podium spot.

While that battle raged, the KTMs of Pedro Acosta and Maverick Viñales were closing fast, benefiting from the slowing pace of the Yamaha. Viñales attacked Acosta on multiple occasions but couldn’t quite find a way through — though his pace suggested he may be a podium threat come Sunday’s main event.

In a last-lap twist, Acosta crashed on the final corner while holding off Vinales. He remounted but rejoined in 19th, a poor reward for such a strong race. That gifted Viñales fifth, who finished just behind Quartararo and ahead of Johann Zarco and a charging Fabio Di Giannantonio — who climbed from 17th on the grid to eighth.

Marc Márquez cruised across the line ahead of the Gresini Ducatis of Alex Marquez and Aldeguer to seal Sprint victory number six in a row and take over the championship lead. He looks to be hard to beat in the feature length race as well, but as we’ve seen this year nothing is certain in MotoGP.

Marc Marquez – “The start was super fast. Fabio was pushing a lot, and I thought, ‘Okay, I can’t follow that pace at the beginning.’ But then I saw he had to slow a little, and I started feeling better and better. In the final laps I was riding well—maybe pushed a bit too much on the last lap—but overall I’m feeling good. Let’s see if we can finish the job tomorrow.”

Alex Marquez – “This morning we made a really good step, and I was able to ride a bit better. I got a good start and stayed calm. Later I had some issues, but I managed to hold on and do my best to close the gap. I’m really happy to be here today. It’s a good result for us.”

Fermín Aldeguer – “I feel incredible. It’s a dream for me to be here with the two brothers. I have to say thank you to the whole team because they’ve helped me a lot. We have the speed, but we still need more experience and consistency. Really happy to be here.”

Le Mans Sprint race