10.05.2026
MotoGP 2026 - Round 05 of 22, Le Mans, France – Race
Round five of 2026 MotoGP circulated the popular site of Le Mans and in front of another sold-out crowd of more than 112,000 spectators on Sunday and over 300,000 for the Grand Prix. Pedro Acosta was the highest ranked KTM RC16 racer with 5th position.
Highlights and key moments from race day at Le Mans:
- Pedro Acosta pushes the limits with a Grand Prix podium in reach and closes to within 1 point of the world championship top three after Le Mans
- Enea Bastianini logs his second highest race finish of 2026 with 7th place in France and two KTM RC16s post top ten results
- Grand Prix points in Moto3™ for the KTM GP Academy with Valentin Perrone in P12 and Brian Uriarte in P15 after both riders crash in a soaked, shortened race and remounted to reach the flag
The weather shifted for race day at the 39th French Grand Prix at Le Mans and the 4.1km Bugatti circuit was cooler, cloudier and with the constant threat of showers. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing started the 27-laps on Sunday afternoon with Pedro Acosta 4th on the grid and Brad Binder in 20th. Red Bull KTM Tech3 watched Enea Bastianini launch from 13th and Jonas Folger, replacing Maverick Viñales for his first Grand Prix outing in three years, in 21st.
Acosta repeated his attacking and proactive approach shown in Saturday’s Sprint (where he classified 4th) to make his presence felt inside the top three in the opening laps. The Spaniard then maintained his pace while trying to fight off attention from pursuers that lasted until the final corners. Pedro was able to confirm P5 for his third top five result of the season – less than three seconds from the win - and brings him to within one point of 3rd place in the world championship table.
Bastianini had a busy grand prix with close company in mid-pack. He was able to pull free of the rider chasing him in 8th, and his standing of 7th represents his third top ten finish in a row. Folger completed the race distance in 16th while Binder charged back to the edge of the first ten runners before losing traction into Turn 7 with six laps to go.
The Grand Prix of Catalunya at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will happen next weekend for round six.
Pedro Acosta, 5th and 4th in the championship: “We didn’t manage the tires like the others. It’s clear we need to improve a few things but I’m happy for my best weekend in Le Mans so far. Also happy with my start; that was quite nice, and also the first 10-12 laps. The second 10, the rear dropped. It looks like the bike is better than we had in Jerez and I’m happy to be back near the front again.”
Enea Bastianini, 7th and 10th in the championship: “Today I’m satisfied but I was expecting another race today. I felt good on the bike in the morning but after some laps in the race I didn’t have the feeling to push more. The bike was moving a lot and the tire dropped. I tried to save my position on the track. 7th: but I’m not that happy. I prefer to overtake riders in a race!”
Jonas Folger, 16th: “A really tough race. I had made some progress all the way up until qualifying and I felt understood the bike in some points but there are still many things left. I could not repeat the practice or qualifying laps for the full race distance. I wasn’t feeling too comfortable with the ergonomics so I think that will be something to work on if I race again because I struggled with my arms and lost energy on the left shoulder. It was another reason why I couldn’t hold the pace. But, anyway, nice to do the whole race and I know where we need to continue working. I want to thank the team for this opportunity and to thank my crew for being so patient.”
Brad Binder, DNF and 13th in the championship: “I locked the front wheel going into turn 7 and the change of direction. It was a fast crash. I braked a bit later and with a bit more pressure. It was just too much. Today I was a lot faster but not where I need to be. The positive is that this morning in warm-up I was quicker and in the race also [than Saturday]. I felt like I was on my way forward. Everything felt easier.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Difficult to be really happy about the results today even if a 5th position and 7th are quite positive. The podium was not far away. The gap to the top was quite small and we definitely made steps compared to last year. Of course, the competition is so close in MotoGP so it is time to analyze the weekend well and the work done and to focus on our weak areas. So, the top five for Pedro and the top seven for Enea is good…but we want more. Brad’s race as well, until the crash, also gave us hope for more progress. We have to thank Jonas for his solid work. He hasn’t been on a GP bike much and we appreciated his professionalism.”
Grand Prix of France photographs can be found HERE
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of France
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Aprilia 41:18.001
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia +0.477
3. Ai Ogura (JPN) Aprilia +0.874
5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +2.991
7. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +8.615
16. Jonas Folger (GER) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +1:13.229
DNF. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia, 128 points
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Aprilia, 127
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati, 84
4. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 83
10. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 39
13. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 28
22. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 0
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 brought the French Grand Prix up to speed in fully wet conditions. The riders were given extra sighting laps with the 20-lap distance reduced to 13 on account of the climate switch and the first damp track time. There were many fallers as Maximo Quiles eventually seized victory on KTM machinery. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Valentin Perrone made a mistake on the second lap but was able to remount and finish 11th. Brian Uriarte was a faller on the first lap and crashed again on the way to 15th place. Alvaro Carpe flipped out of action on lap four and was forced to retire while Rico Salmela hit the deck in the same section of the track while battling inside the top ten and also DNF-ed. Carpe continues to hold a top three slot in the championship standings while Perrone is 4th.
Red Bull KTM Ajo were again active for Moto2, and the contest took place on a dry track. Collin Veijer had set top ten speed through the weekend but was limited by a restarted race that lowered the length to 9 laps. The Dutchman slid out in the La Chapelle turn while trying to recover ground through mid-pack. Jose Antonio Rueda sampled his first taste of Moto2 at Le Mans and the rookie finished 18th.
The second and last race of the second round of the 2026 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup – a key platform in the ‘Road to MotoGP’ scheme – took place on Sunday morning. Beñat Fernandez had clinched the first race in Le Mans on Saturday but the Spaniard finished 8th due to a Long Lap penalty as countryman David Gonzalez triumphed by a marginal gap of 0.127 of a second over Fernando Bujosa and Britain’s Sullivan Mounsey. Fernandez still heads the early championship standings. The Rookies will compete again in Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix at the end of May.
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of France
1. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team 24:41.640
2. Adrian Fernandez (ESP) Honda +1.888
3. Matteo Bertelle (ESP) KTM +4.227
11. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +26.119
13. Marco Morelli (ARG) CFMOTO Aspar Team +32.602
15. Brian Uriarte (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +34.968
DNF. Alvaro Carpe (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo
DNF. Rico Salmela (FIN) Red Bull KTM Tech3
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 115 points
2. Adrian Fernandez (ESP) Honda, 69
3. Alvaro Carpe (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 53
4. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 52
6. Marco Morelli (ARG) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 48
9. Brian Uriarte (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 29
14. Rico Salmela (FIN) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 21
Results Moto2 Grand Prix of France
1. Izan Guevara (ESP) 14:14.987
2. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +0.566
3. Ivan Ortola (ESP) +2.969
5. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team +5.165
11. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +10.623
18. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +14.791
DNF. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) 79.5 points
2. Izan Guevara (ESP) 70
3. Senna Agius (AUS) 59
5. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 48
6. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 43
11. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 29.5
23. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 1
PRESS CONTACT
Evangelia Sissis
PR Manager MotoGP
M: +43 676 665 2742
E: evangelia.sissis@ktm.com