Johann Zarco wins the French MotoGP Grand Prix, a first for a Frenchman since 1954

Could there have been a more beautiful way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans? A French pole position, that of Fabio Quartararo, for the main event of the MotoGP French Grand Prix on Sunday, May 11. A race whose scenario was disrupted by the onset of rain, right on the 2 p.m. start. A record attendance, too, for a round of the MotoGP World Championship.

All that was missing was a victory for a local driver to cap it all. Victim of a crash in the final corner of the fourth lap (out of twenty-six), Fabio Quartararo was unfortunately unable to fight back. But to everyone's surprise, his compatriot Johann Zarco, ^11th on the grid, thrilled the more than 120,000 people gathered around the circuit, taking the lead on lap seven.

Excellent on a wet track and smarter than his rivals of the day, by opting for rain tires from the start, the 34-year-old senior in the category secured the second victory of his MotoGP career, for his ^150th Grand Prix, after the one in Australia in 2023. Without a doubt the most beautiful, in front of his parents who came to see him race for the very first time.

As he crossed the finish line, the hero of the day was warmly celebrated by the crowd, in a true sense of communion. It had been 71 years since a Frenchman had won the French Grand Prix on home soil in the premier class of motorcycling. The last? Pierre Monneret, in 1954. The event was held in Reims.

"The last laps were very long and now I'm going to need a little time [to take it in] . It's magical," reacted the hero of the day, in English, to the organizers' microphone. Before continuing in French this time: "I would never have believed that it would happen like this (...). Greeting the public on the last lap is just exceptional and I have the impression that it only happens once in a lifetime. It's today!"

Shortly before the race kicked off, MotoGP promoter Dorna announced that the 2025 Le Mans race had set a record attendance, with 311,797 people attending the Bugatti circuit between Friday and Sunday. This was an unprecedented crowd in the history of the world championship, which began in 1974. The French Grand Prix already held the previous record, with nearly 298,000 spectators in 2024.

"Le Mans has become a rather special and unmissable event. We now have a kind of community. People are almost becoming religious. It's like OM in Marseille," the event's organizer, Claude Michy, told Agence France-Presse. This round, which has become a benchmark for fans, still has a bright future ahead of it: the contract linking the Bugatti circuit to Dorna has been extended until 2031.