Marc Marquez: “Many unknowns” for Le Mans MotoGP
Marc Marquez predicts a Le Mans MotoGP weekend with "many unknowns" including some weather "surprises".
Ducati’s run of five Le Mans MotoGP wins, with five different riders, came to an end at the hands of LCR Honda’s home hero Johann Zarco in a rain-interrupted 2025 grand prix.
That defeat was merely a blip during Marc Marquez’s unstoppable charge towards a ninth world title but the Spaniard returns to France in a very different situation this weekend.
Without a grand prix podium from the opening four rounds, Marquez is only fifth in the world championship and 44 points behind Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi.
Marquez has lost points to Bezzecchi in all four rounds this season, most recently when a chaotic Sprint win at Jerez was followed by a crash in the grand prix.
The Ducati Lenovo rider rebounded with fourth place, behind a trio of Aprilias, at the Monday test and now turns his focus to a first French MotoGP win since 2019.
"Le Mans is a track that I like and where I was already very fast with the Desmosedici GP last year,” Marquez said.
“It will be a weekend with many unknowns: the weather might give us some surprises.
“In any case, at Jerez we worked well. Aside from the crash, we were competitive and also on Monday we made a good step forward".
Weather forecasts currently predict a risk of thunderstorms on Saturday and light rain on Sunday.
Team-mate Pecco Bagnaia, who failed to finish the Spanish grand prix due to a technical issue, also felt progress was made in the test, especially in terms of aerodynamics.
“I'm very happy and satisfied with the aerodynamics because I think we did a step in cornering. It was something I was missing a lot this year and last year, to make the bike turn more in fast corners,” Bagnaia said.
“We also tested something for the electronics to help stop the bike more. We didn't find a solution, but we may have found a way. So I really hope that the team will focus on that and see if, for Le Mans, we will have something that will help.”
Looking to this weekend, the double MotoGP champion said: "I am happy to go to Le Mans; on paper, it's the kind of track that can best enhance the character of the Desmosedici GP.
“After the test, I remained satisfied; we tried some convincing solutions that can give us a hand not only here but also on other types of tracks.
“We hope for good weather and continue to work to get closer to the strongest.”
Despite Ducati’s past success, Bagnaia has never won at Le Mans in the premier class.
The Italian will start the 2026 event just ninth in the world championship.
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