The first Movistar Yamaha duel of the season saw Maverick Viñales the man to take the stunning 500th win for Yamaha after a clash of the titans at Le Mans– with the tremors from the French GP felt throughout the Championship standings as the dust settles. With both Yamahas dueling on the last lap, the number 46 dramatically slid out of contention from behind his teammate to lose the Championship lead – and join Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez on the list of those leaving Le Mans empty handed.
The headlines came thick and fast, with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) taking the lead off Viñales off the line and the two factory Yamaha machines slotting in behind. The Frenchman held firm at the front in style until Viñales made his move and once past, the rider from Roses pushed to make a gap and leave the Frenchman to duel it out with his teammate. Zarco, the rookie held on with some stunning pace in his home race.
As the gap finally began to grow, Rossi pulled the pin from third to overtake the Frenchman and go on the charge. The ‘Doctor’ reeled his teammate in at the front, passed him, and then looked to escape – but the two blue machines were set for a spectacular last lap duel.
It was the ‘Doctor’ ahead as that last lap dawned, before an uncharacteristic mistake let Viñales back through and the number 46 pushed hard to close back in. Close in he did, before the final stroke of drama for the day suddenly found the nine-time World Champion sliding out, watching his teammate disappear into the distance.
The Championship leader was points leader no more, with Viñales crossing the line for 25 points to overtake Rossi and gain big ground over Marquez.
Home hero Zarco kept it calm under the huge pressures of the incredible home crowd to then cross the line in second behind the factory Yamaha – with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) completing the podium after an awesome slice through the field.
Pedrosa began the race in P13, was seventh after the first few laps and then pushed his way past Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) to set off after the frontrunners – closing in on Marquez before watching his teammate slide out. The number 93 pushed too hard and Pedrosa, after a magnificent win in Jerez and the drama in Le Mans, is now the man second in the title standings – only 17 off Viñales’ lead.
‘DesmoDovi’ fought off Crutchlow to take fourth from the Brit and then gain a gap, with the rider from Coventry completing the top five. Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) took a top six finish to gain an impressive ten places from his difficult grid position, with Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in seventh.
Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) again hit his 2017 target despite a huge crash on Saturday to cross the line in the top ten in eighth, ahead of a fantastic home showing for Frenchman Loris Baz (Reale Avintia Racing) in ninth.
Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) completed the top ten after a more difficult race but took good points, with Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in P11 ahead of both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machines in the points once again. Pol Espargaro bested the second ‘Bull’ of Bradley Smith by only half a second over the line, with the double points finish the perfect finish to a French GP that also saw the Austrian factory move through to Q2 for the first time with both riders.
Sam Lowes (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) took his first points in P14, with Alex Rins’ injury replacement Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar) scoring a point in fifteenth as the 2014 WorldSBK Champion had a solid ride back in MotoGP™.
HJC HELMETS GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE
MotoGP Race Classification 2017
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 161.6 | 43’29.793 |
| 2 | 20 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 161.4 | +3.134 |
| 3 | 16 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 161.1 | +7.717 |
| 4 | 13 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 160.9 | +11.223 |
| 5 | 11 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | 160.8 | +13.519 |
| 6 | 10 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 160.1 | +24.002 |
| 7 | 9 | 94 | Jonas FOLGER | GER | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 160.0 | +25.733 |
| 8 | 8 | 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 159.6 | +32.603 |
| 9 | 7 | 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 158.8 | +45.784 |
| 10 | 6 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 158.7 | +48.332 |
| 11 | 5 | 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 158.5 | +50.036 |
| 12 | 4 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 158.4 | +52.661 |
| 13 | 3 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 158.4 | +53.179 |
| 14 | 2 | 22 | Sam LOWES | GBR | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 158.2 | +55.432 |
| 15 | 1 | 50 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | FRA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 157.6 | +1’06.878 |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 161.6 | 1 Lap | ||
| 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 159.8 | 5 Laps | ||
| 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 160.9 | 11 Laps | ||
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | 159.7 | 11 Laps | ||
| 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | 149.1 | 21 Laps | ||
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 151.4 | 23 Laps | ||
| 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 153.6 | 25 Laps | ||
| Not Finished 1st Lap | ||||||||
| 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 0 Lap | |||
MotoGP World Standing 2017
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | SPA | 85 |
| 2 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 68 |
| 3 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 62 |
| 4 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | SPA | 58 |
| 5 | Johann ZARCO | Yamaha | FRA | 55 |
| 6 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | ITA | 54 |
| 7 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | GBR | 40 |
| 8 | Jorge LORENZO | Ducati | SPA | 38 |
| 9 | Jonas FOLGER | Yamaha | GER | 38 |
| 10 | Jack MILLER | Honda | AUS | 29 |
| 11 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 26 |
| 12 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | GBR | 26 |
| 13 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | FRA | 19 |
| 14 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | SPA | 17 |
| 15 | Andrea IANNONE | Suzuki | ITA | 15 |
| 16 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | SPA | 14 |
| 17 | Tito RABAT | Honda | SPA | 13 |
| 18 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | SPA | 12 |
| 19 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 9 |
| 20 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | SPA | 7 |
| 21 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | SPA | 6 |
| 22 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | GBR | 6 |
| 23 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | GBR | 2 |
| 24 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | FRA | 1 |
| 25 | Takuya TSUDA | Suzuki | JPN |
Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motogp.com
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Wing Hin Motorsports Looks To Japan To Expand Its Driver Development Program![]()
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“This is a strong result to kickstart the season but the development process continues and both drivers acknowledge that the challenges ahead will get tougher.”![]()
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Wing Hin Motorsports’ Driver Development Program received a huge boost when two of its drivers finished the opening round of the Japanese Toyota GAZOO Racing GR86/BRZ Clubman Series in 2nd and 6th positions at Autopolis Circuit.![]()
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Malaysia’s Mitchell Cheah got off to a dream start in his racing debut in Japan when he powered the Wing Hin Motorsports GR86 to a hard-fought 2nd place.![]()
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Wing Hin Motorsports Looks To Japan To Expand Its Driver Development Program![]()
![]()
“This is a strong result to kickstart the season but the development process continues and both drivers acknowledge that the challenges ahead will get tougher.”![]()
![]()
Wing Hin Motorsports’ Driver Development Program received a huge boost when two of its drivers finished the opening round of the Japanese Toyota GAZOO Racing GR86/BRZ Clubman Series in 2nd and 6th positions at Autopolis Circuit.![]()
![]()
Malaysia’s Mitchell Cheah got off to a dream start in his racing debut in Japan when he powered the Wing Hin Motorsports GR86 to a hard-fought 2nd place.![]()
![]()
The 2026 Toyota GAZOO Racing GR86/BRZ Cup will be run over seven rounds. From the season-opener at Autopolis, the Series moves to Round 2 from 16-17 May at Sportsland Sugo, followed by Round 3 from 27-28 June at Okayama International Circuit; and Round 4 from 8-9 August at the Tokachi Speedway. Round 5 will be held at Fuji Speedway from 5-6 September, followed by Round 6 from 3-4 October at Suzuka Circuit before the 7th and final round at Mobility Resort Montegi from 21-22 November.
Wing Hin Motorsports Looks To Japan To Expand Its Driver Development Program![]()
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Having won the Toyota GAZOO Racing GR86/BRZ Clubman Series last year, Malaysia’s Wing Hin Motorsports is doubling down on its’s presence in Japan to establish a gateway for the rise of racing talent from Asia.![]()
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In collaboration with Masahiro Sasaki, a Gazoo Racing and Rookie Racing driver, the Malaysian team will field two drivers at the opening of the 2026 Toyota GAZOO Racing GR86/BRZ Clubman Series this weekend as part of its Driver Development Program. Wing Hin Motorsports had won the Series in its debut last year with Naquib Azlan and also clinched a 4th place overall with a second Malaysian driver Amer Harris.![]()
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