Fabio Quartararo’s hopes of delivering a podium finish at his home Grand Prix were dashed after crashing out of second place in a dramatic and rain-affected 2025 French MotoGP at Le Mans.
Starting from pole, the Monster Yamaha rider initially led the race despite receiving a double long-lap penalty for switching back to slick tyres on the second sighting lap. After serving one of the penalties, Quartararo had recovered to second and was closing in on Marc Marquez when he lost the front at the final corner as rain intensity increased.
“It’s a shame but I knew that the pace to win or be on the podium was really complicated, so I wanted to push like hell in the first laps,” said Quartararo. “It was raining a little more, and I had not even one moment from the rear. I just completely lost the front. I didn’t expect it.”
The same corner also claimed his fellow Yamaha riders Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira, underlining the tricky conditions. “There’s a slight elevation change there and you can lose the bike quite quickly. All three Yamahas went down at the same place,” he added.
Despite the crash, Quartararo remained upbeat about the weekend: “I still really enjoyed the weekend. We showed great pace and lap times. We gave it our maximum.”
Quartararo’s crash initially deflated the 120,000-strong home crowd, but their spirits were lifted when Johann Zarco went on to claim a historic victory — the first for a French rider at Le Mans since 1954.
“I didn’t win, but I can imagine how Johann is feeling. Congratulations to him!” Quartararo said.
Post-race, the Frenchman received a €2000 fine and a penalty for “disobeying direct instructions from marshals” while trying to rejoin after the crash. He will miss the first 10 minutes of FP1 at the British Grand Prix.
Team director Massimo Meregalli said, “Our hearts go out to Fabio. He was courageous in the early stages, and although it ended in disappointment, we take this as a positive sign for future wet races.”
Quartararo is now seventh in the championship with 56 points. Team-mate Alex Rins was the only Yamaha to finish, in 12th place. Yamaha resumes testing at Misano on Tuesday before heading to Silverstone in two weeks.
