It was the first two corners at LeMans where the competition held its breath. Jorge Martin2024 world champion, who did not drive in his first Aprilia year in 2025, catapulted himself from eighth place on the grid to first place with a remarkable Harakiri maneuver, which he didn’t want to give up until the checkered flag.
The Spaniard won ahead Francesco Bagnaia and Aprilia colleagues Marco Bezzecchi.
With the sprint success, Martin leads the all-time list of winners in this category with 18 triumphs, ahead of Marc Marquez (17) and Bagnaia (13). Martin will be back again in 2026 and will now challenge Bezzecchi in the World Cup. The Spaniard is only six points behind the Italian.
Martin cheered: “I love this route and put all my dedication into the start. I hope it works on Sunday too.” While Ducati rider Bagnaia gave another sign of life with second place, the reigning world champion stumbles Marc Marquez through the season, can’t seem to cope with his Ducati anymore.
Hard fall
At Le Mans the Spaniard was trailing before he made a terrible dive on the last lap, sailed over his machine, landed hard and limped away. Marquez, who played with the competition last year, is having another series of falls this year.