After a tough Practice session, Jorge Martin turned things around in the Sprint race by securing the top spot, making it a hat-trick of Sprint wins. Teammate Marco Bezecchi’s third-place finish ensured a double podium for Aprilia, while Francesco Bagnaia took the second spot.

For Marc Marquez, however, the day ended in a far more disappointing manner than he would have expected.

Having begun from 8th on the grid, Jorge Martn filtered through the likes of Bezecchi, Bagnaia, and Marquez. He found an opportunity at Turns 3 and 4 and then grabbed it with both hands as he maintained the lead from there onwards.

Bagnaia, who was in third place at the time, grabbed P2 from Bezecchi, thanks to a mistake from the Aprilia rider in Lap 3 at Turn 7. Fabio Di Giannantonio began from fourth place, but his Sprint session ended prematurely after Turn 3 on Lap 5.

Marc Marquez stunned everyone with a blistering performance in Q1, breaking the lap record at the Le Mans circuit with a time of 1:29:288 seconds. At the time, it looked like he was truly back. However, he simply could not replicate this performance in the Sprint session.

In the penultimate lap, the No.93 suffered a fatal crash that left him unable to walk without support, resulting in a DNF. The crash is being said to be one of the worst in the season.

Here’s what the leaderboard after the Sprint session looks like:

Pedro Acosta appeared aggressive throughout the session, having overtaken Marquez early in the race. He kept himself in contention for a spot in the top 10, eventually settling for P4. Fabio Quartararo ensured there was a Yamaha once again in the Top 10 at P5, a sign that the factory OEM is making some progress.

Joan Mir, Ai Ogura, and Alex Marquez occupied P6, P7, and P8, while Diego Moreira achieved the best finish of his MotoGP career so far. Johann Zarco, the winner of the Practice session, found himself at P10.

Marc Marquez To Miss The French GP After Injury!

Following the last-lap crash, Marquez was seen being taken to the pits on a scooter, needing support to walk after getting off. He was diagnosed with a 5th metatarsal fracture on his right foot and will not be taking part in tomorrow's race.

It has now been confirmed that the No.93 rider will require surgery on his foot and his right shoulder. As a result, he will miss the Catalan Grand Prix as well.

Marquez was scheduled to get surgery on his shoulder after the Catalan GP, but after suffering a foot fracture, the procedures are being brought forward.

This is certainly a bittersweet day for the Ducati factory team, as it celebrates Pecco’s P2 in the Sprint race on one end, but Marquez’s injury leaves them concerned. A replacement rider for Marquez is yet to be confirmed. We will be back with more!

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Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason