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2022 MotoGP Season
French Grand Prix
Round 7
Circuit Bugatti
Le Mans, France
Sunday, 15 May 2022
Aleix Espargaró will be looking to move to the top of the 2022 MotoGP riders standings by winning the
French Grand Prix on May 15.
The Aprilia rider was forced to retire from last year's French MotoGP due to an engine problem having started 13th on the grid.
Espargaró finished third in the most recent race in the 2022 MotoGP season which was the Spanish MotoGP on May 1.
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It was the 32-year-old Spaniard's second successive podium finish having also finished third at the Portuguese MotoGP on April 24.
The Spanish MotoGP was won by Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati with Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo finishing second at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto.
The reigning MotoGP world champion Quartararo is placed at the top of the 2022 riders' standings while Enea Bastianini of Ducati is placed third.
Espargaro is placed second in the standings and he will leapfrog Quartarao if he wins the French MotoGP this weekend.
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“I was very angry because I couldn’t overtake them (Marc Marquez and Jack Miller), I made a very bad start again so we need to improve the clutch because I cannot understand it and I keep doing bad starts every race,” said Espargaro after the 2022 Spanish MotoGP.
“I had great corner speed compared to them but I couldn’t show it because they both brake very late, but I knew in a 40 minute race that one or two mistakes would arrive. I stayed very close all the time trying to wait for the errors, Jack braked really early in Turn 13 so I decided to go inside him and then I saw Marc going wide, and I knew this was my moment.
“When I saw the pit-board and it was five laps to the end I was super focussed, I set three really fast low 1:38s laps and built a big gap and realised that maybe my pace was enough to follow Fabio [Quartararo} and Pecco [Bagnaia], but this is racing and you also need to be good at overtaking and I wasn’t today.”
Ducati are placed at the top of the Manufacturers' Championship standings and they are followed by Yamaha and Aprilia respectively.
2021 French Grand Prix results
Winner: Jack Miller- Ducati
Runner-Up: Johann Zarco - Ducati
Third-Place: Fabio Quartararo - Yamaha
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