MotoGP Le Mans: Bastianini beasts Le Mans

Gresini Racing’s Enea Bastianini scored a dominant third victory of the 2022 season in the FrenchGP at Le Mans on Sunday.

Three seconds split the young Italian from Ducati Lenovo’s Jack Miller with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro securing another podium finish from his fourth front row start of the year to bring the Noale factory to the top of the teams championship.

The 100,000 strong Le Mans crowd provided a hero’s welcome as MotoGP Champion Fabio Quartararo set out to the grid ahead of the 27-lap FrenchGP. His Monster Energy Yamaha teammate Franky Morbidelli taking a trip through the gravel on the sighting lap as Garage Vert caught its first victim earlier than expected.

With temperatures hotter than expected the entirety of the pack opted for soft rear Michelin rubber with the majority on medium front options, and the KTM’s on hard. Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia launching from pole ahead of Lenovo teammate Miller and Aprilia’s Espargaro with Quartararo and Pramac’s Johann Zarco starting fourth and ninth respectively in the 68-year hunt for a French winner on home soil.

The threatened rain failed to appear as the lights released under blue skies. Miller grabbing the holeshot from his teammate as Bastianini launched to third on the Gresini machine to make it an all-Ducati trio out front. Quartararo dropped to ninth with the Suzuki’s immediately up to fourth and fifth before Alex Rins pushed through on Bastianini to capture the final podium position. Espargaro battling with Marc Marquez for sixth with Takaaki Nakagami fighting hard on the leading M1 further back.

Zarco and Brad Binder collided in the opening stages on the fringes of the top ten with the South African losing a wing of the KTM in the process. Repsol’s Pol Espargaro