Jorge Martin charged from seventh on the grid to win the French Grand Prix on Sunday, claiming his first MotoGP victory in 588 days and moving within striking distance of Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi in the championship battle.

The Spaniard, who endured a forgettable 2025 season plagued by crashes and injuries, overtook race leader Bezzecchi with three laps remaining. “It’s unbelievable. I still can’t say it enough times, because I’m so, so grateful to all the fans,” an emotional Martin said.

The victory moved Martin to within one point of championship leader Bezzecchi after five rounds. Ai Ogura completed the podium in third for Aprilia’s satellite team, Trackhouse, giving the Italian manufacturer its first-ever podium sweep, while he became the first Japanese rider on the podium in 14 years.

Ducati had another Sunday to forget, with reigning champion Marc Marquez missing the race after fracturing his foot in Saturday’s sprint crash, while teammate and polesitter Francesco Bagnaia crashed while in second place.

Martin celebrated his breakthrough victory with his trademark windscreen smash before mimicking France forward Kylian Mbappe’s goal celebration. Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola said: “I’m still thinking about last year in Le Mans here, when Jorge wanted to leave (Aprilia) and I said, ‘I think you can win with us.’ So winning in Le Mans is quite special for me.”

Source: www.aljazeera.com