Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took a record-breaking victory at the HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France, which sees the reigning World Champion equal Casey Stoner’s 38 premier class wins – and surpass Mike Hailwood’s win record. Alma Pramac Racing’s Danilo Petrucci was a superb second to take his first podium of the season – and from the front row – with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) returning to rostrum in third place after a more difficult run of races for the ‘Doctor’.
Sadly, however, the French fairytale wasn’t to be for Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), as the home hero crashed out at Turn 8 on lap eight after re-passing Marquez for second in the fight at the front. Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was another rider to crash, falling out of contention on lap one at la Chapelle after making a good start. In yet more drama for the standings, Championship contender Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) made a rare error at the same corner four laps later, making Le Mans another pivotal race in the Championship.
At the start, it was Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) who got the holeshot from the second row, repeating his incredible launch of the Spanish GP to take off in the lead – and hold onto it. Zarco dropped from pole but then struck back almost immediately into the chicane to take second, with Petrucci, Dovizioso, Marquez and Rossi all close at the front until Iannone crashed out – leaving a gap back to Marquez as the two Ducatis and Zarco stayed close together at the front.
The Frenchman then headed slightly wide and Dovizioso struck, honing in on teammate Lorenzo in the lead and not leaving long before trying an attack. Getting the job done quickly, it seemed the Italian was then going to unleash his pace shown in practice – but he suddenly slid out of the lead and into the gravel, leaving the number 99 of Lorenzo’s Ducati out front.
Zarco and Marquez closed in before the reigning Champion shot past the Frenchman for second – but Zarco, in signature style, was quick to respond. The second bolt of drama was about to hit the race, however, as the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider then slid off at Turn 8 – leaving Marquez vs Lorenzo in the lead.
On Lap 10, the number 93 made his move before Petrucci followed the Honda rider through a lap later. Rossi and Miller soon carved their way past the five-time World Champion, who started the race on softer rubber, with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) waiting in the wings.
The gap between Marquez, Petrucci, Rossi and Miller stayed consistent, with all four exchanging quickest laps. That was until six-time World Champion Marquez pulled the pin on Lap 16, setting the fastest lap of the race to bridge the gap to a second over the chasing GP18. From there, Marquez was able to stretch the gap tenth by tenth, with Petrucci also keeping nine-time World Champion Rossi at bay. Pedrosa was later able to pass Lorenzo for fifth, with the Ducati rider having to settle for sixth.
Further down the order, after failing to get the start he was looking for, last year’s winner Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) made his way back up to seventh after being outside the top ten for the first half of the race. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) had a great ride, holding onto eighth until the last lap but then coming home ninth. Passing him on the last lap was a superhuman Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), who had a magnificent ride battling to P8 from 13th on the grid – riding through the pain barrier after a huge highside on Saturday.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) battled with Viñales and Espargaro throughout the race, eventually rounding out the top ten in his first ride at the track in the premier class, having missed the event in 2017 due to injury. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) picked up another solid result in P11 for some more good points for KTM, with Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) eventually getting the better of Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) to finish as top rookie.
That’s it for Le Mans, and it’s now time to gear up for Mugello. Marquez extends his Championship lead to 36 points but the Italians will be out in force to try and stop him – can his momentum be stalled?
HJC HELMETS GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE
MotoGP Race Classification 2018.
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 162.0 | 41’49.773 |
| 2 | 20 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 161.9 | +2.310 |
| 3 | 16 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 161.7 | +5.350 |
| 4 | 13 | 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 161.6 | +6.314 |
| 5 | 11 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 161.6 | +7.419 |
| 6 | 10 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 161.4 | +10.355 |
| 7 | 9 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 160.5 | +23.758 |
| 8 | 8 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda CASTROL | Honda | 160.4 | +25.795 |
| 9 | 7 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 160.4 | +26.206 |
| 10 | 6 | 42 | Alex RINS | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 160.2 | +27.937 |
| 11 | 5 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 160.0 | +32.304 |
| 12 | 4 | 55 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | MAL | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 159.8 | +34.962 |
| 13 | 3 | 21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | ITA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 159.6 | +37.881 |
| 14 | 2 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 159.6 | +38.299 |
| 15 | 1 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | 159.4 | +41.986 |
| 16 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 159.2 | +45.260 | |
| 17 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Angel Nieto Team | Ducati | 158.4 | +56.872 | |
| 18 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 157.5 | +1’12.117 | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 158.5 | 17 Laps | ||
| 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 147.3 | 17 Laps | ||
| 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 148.2 | 19 Laps | ||
| 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 160.3 | 23 Laps | ||
| 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Angel Nieto Team | Ducati | 149.0 | 26 Laps | ||
| Not Finished 1st Lap | ||||||||
| 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 0 Lap | |||
MotoGP World Standing 2018.
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | SPA | 95 |
| 2 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | SPA | 59 |
| 3 | Johann ZARCO | Yamaha | FRA | 58 |
| 4 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 56 |
| 5 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 54 |
| 6 | Jack MILLER | Ducati | AUS | 49 |
| 7 | Andrea IANNONE | Suzuki | ITA | 47 |
| 8 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | GBR | 46 |
| 9 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | ITA | 46 |
| 10 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 29 |
| 11 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | SPA | 24 |
| 12 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | SPA | 22 |
| 13 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | SPA | 18 |
| 14 | Jorge LORENZO | Ducati | SPA | 16 |
| 15 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Honda | ITA | 16 |
| 16 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | SPA | 13 |
| 17 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Yamaha | MAL | 13 |
| 18 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | SPA | 12 |
| 19 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | JPN | 10 |
| 20 | Mika KALLIO | KTM | FIN | 6 |
| 21 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | GBR | 5 |
| 22 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | GBR | 5 |
| 23 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 1 |
| 24 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | SWI | |
| 25 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | BEL |
Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motoGP.com
Check Out Our Instagram Feed
Check Out Our Facebook Feed
The Launch of the Malaysian round of the 2025 Autobacs SUPER GT Series yesterday in Kuala Lumpur. Come and catch some of the coolest racing machine this 26th - 28th June 2025. The race which will be the third round of the Series scheduled for 26-28 June 2025, will be held at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit and will feature the tops manufacturers and drivers from Japan competing in the GT500 and GT300 Classes. #japangt #petronassic #AUTOBACS
NAZA Automotive Group just launched Malaysia’s first flagship Suzuki Cars showroom in Petaling Jaya! 🎉 Located beside the iconic NAZA Auto Mall. ![]()
@nazamotors @suzukicarsmy ![]()
#NAZA #SuzukiMalaysia #AutoNews #CarLaunch #PetalingJaya
🏎️🇲🇾 Exciting news for racing fans in Malaysia! Introducing the GR86 Cup Malaysia Series 2025, featuring the sleek Toyota GR86 sports coupe. Get ready for adrenaline-pumping action with support races at iconic Sepang Circuit. Don’t miss out on the thrills! 🚦🏁 #GR86Cup #MalaysiaRacing #SepangCircuit #ToyotaGR86 #トヨタ #MotorBugs
トヨタ GAZOO Racing![]()
![]()
The opening round of the year saw a total of 36 racers, including one from Thailand and Singapore, competing in three individual classes of racing: Super Sporting for professional drivers; Sporting for amateurs; and Rookie for young drivers under Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia’s Young Talent Development Program.![]()
![]()
The 2025 edition of the Toyota VIOS Challenge kicks off with an adrenaline-packed season featuring 4 rounds of racing across 3 distinct categories:![]()
![]()
Super Sporting Class (Gold Championship for professionals),![]()
Sporting Class (Gold Championship for amateurs), and the![]()
Rookie Class (for selected young talents development program)![]()
![]()
#TGR #ToyotaGazooRacing2025 #ViosChallenge #Motorbugs
