Madrid native Jorge Martín (Aprilia) delivered a sensational double victory at Le Mans today.
/ MOTOGPTV
Emilio Pérez de Rozas, Le Mans, France
If last year saw the spectacular return of Catalan Marc Márquez (Ducati), who not only won races but claimed his ninth world championship, then the comeback of Madrid’s Jorge Martín (Aprilia) to the MotoGP spotlight has been equally stellar and overwhelming. ‘Martinator’, who recently publicly thanked the nine-time world champion for recommending his medical team to recover from his many ailments, won the French Grand Prix at Le Mans today in front of 112,167 spectators. He did it in style, winning both Saturday and Sunday races, marking his first GP victory in 588 days since his last win in Indonesia 2024.
“I couldn’t be happier, and I couldn’t be more grateful,” Martín said before stepping onto the podium. “These have been months of immense pain and sacrifice, and I must thank everyone — especially my family, my girlfriend, my dog, Aprilia, my team, and everyone who helped me get through this.” It goes without saying that Martín, who led Aprilia’s dominant performance at Le Mans — securing the first triple of the season alongside Italian Marc Bezzecchi and Japanese Ai Ogura — believes this victory could make him a clear contender for the world title once again.
The championship remains tight. Currently, Martín trails his teammate ‘Bezz’ by just one point (128 vs. 127), and with 17 race weekends still ahead, there is plenty of work to do. However, the way Martín secured today’s win was completely different from his sprint victory on Saturday, where a blistering start put him in the lead and allowed an easy win. Starting from seventh on the grid, he fought his way forward — much like Ogura — until he reached the front, where Bezzecchi was locked in a fierce battle with his compatriot ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia (Ducati), who eventually crashed. When Martín caught up to his teammate Bezzecchi, he didn’t hesitate, overtaking him at the first opportunity with incredible confidence and pulling away in the final two laps, building a half-second gap over the championship leader.
French Grand Prix Result:
1. Jorge Martín (Aprilia), 41 minutes 18.001 seconds
2. Marc Bezzecchi (Aprilia), +0.477 seconds
3. Ai Ogura (Aprilia), +0.874 seconds
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati), +2.851 seconds
5. Pedro Acosta (KTM), +2.991 seconds
Championship Standings:
1. Marc Bezzecchi (Italy) – 128 points
2. Jorge Martín (Spain) – 127 points
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Italy) – 84 points
4. Pedro Acosta (Spain) – 83 points
5. Ai Ogura (Japan) – 67 points
