LE MANS – Spain’s defending world champion Marc Marquez of Honda won the French Moto GP at Le Mans on Sunday ahead of Italian pair Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci of Ducati.
It was Marquez’s 47th top level GP win and his third of the season, but for Honda this was a 300th top level Moto GP victory.
Jim Redman won their first one back in 1966, and no other manufacturer has achieved top step of the podium on so many occasions.
Starting from pole Marquez won by almost 2sec from Dovizioso and the victory set up a double celebration for the family as his younger brother Alex Marquez won the Moto2 GP earlier in the day.
Marquez now leads the championship with 95pts, eight more than Dovizioso in second and 20 ahead Alex Rins of Suzuki, who could only manage 10th Sunday, while Italian veteran Valentino Rossi of Yamaha is fourth on 72 points.
“It’s always difficult at Le Mans,” Marquez said of the winding Bugatti circuit.
From Jim Redman in 1966 on the RC181 to @marcmarquez93 and RC213V in 2019, Honda have taken to the top step of the podium in the premier class 300 times - an achievement no other manufacturer has managed! pic.twitter.com/cs5k15koBs
— Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP) May 19, 2019
One rider who might agree with him is Spain’s Maverick Vinales, who ended up sliding out after a tangle with Francesco Bagnaia.