MotoGP - French Grand Prix - Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, France - May 14, 2023 Mooney VR46 Racing Team's Marco Bezzecchi in action during the MotoGP race REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
LE MANS, France (Reuters) -VR46 Racing's Marco Bezzecchi produced a battling display at the French GP on Sunday to record his second win of the season and slash fellow Italian Francesco Bagnaia's championship lead down to one point.
Saturday's sprint winner Jorge Martin finished second, just over four seconds behind the winner, while Martin's Pramac Ducati team mate Johann Zarco was third to give the French fans something to cheer about.
"It's fantastic, I started very well," Bezzecchi said. "I just tried to keep my rhythm, and I felt very good on the bike!"
Pole sitter Bagnaia was overtaken on the first turn as Marc Marquez and Jack Miller started fast.
Marquez and Miller swapped the lead in the first half of the race, but Bezzecchi applied constant pressure and was handed a penalty for forcing Marquez off the track, before edging in front on the 10th lap.
Once Bezzecchi had the lead, the Italian did not look back as he surged away from the chasing pack to take victory and make up significant ground on Bagnaia, who crashed out early on in the race.
Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder dropped into third in the overall standings with Martin and Zarco fourth and fifth.
NUMEROUS CRASHES
The 1,000th premier-class race in the sport had no shortage of drama.
Reigning champion Bagnaia was competing with Aprilia's Maverick Vinales 22 laps from the end when contact on a risky overtaking move caused both riders to crash out of the race.
Tempers flared and Vinales confronted the championship leader and shoved him before the pair were separated.
On the same lap, Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez and Luca Marini of VR46 Ducati were involved in a crash, with Marquez emerging unscathed despite landing in the middle of the track.
Six-times world champion Marc Marquez looked on course for a podium finish on his from a hand injury, as he engaged in a fierce battle with Martin for second place.
However, the Spaniard pushed his Honda a little too far as he crashed out after making a mistake with two laps to go, opening the door for Martin and Zarco.
"I wanted to catch Marc, but I didn't want to make any mistake, and fortunately Marc did," said Frenchman Zarco. "Pretty happy, podium here at the French GP and at the 1000th GP. It's an honour."
France's 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo finished seventh.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
