The 2020 French motorcycle Grand Prix (officially known as the SHARK Helmets Grand Prix de France) was the tenth round of the 2020 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, the ninth round of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship and the last race of the

2020 MotoE World Cup The 2020 MotoE World Cup (known officially as the 2020 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the MotoE World Cup for electric motorcycle racing, and part of the 72nd F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season ...

, which represent the end of the season for the MotoE class. It was held at the

Bugatti Circuit The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport Race track, race course, chiefly known as the venue for ...

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

on 11 October 2020. Spaniard

Jordi Torres Jordi Torres Fernández (born August 27, 1987) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He is a two-time MotoE World Cup winner, having won in and . He is a two-time winner of the Spanish Moto2 championship, and has previously competed in his native Su ...

won the MotoE World Cup in the second race. Italian

Danilo Petrucci Danilo Carlo Petrucci (born 24 October 1990) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer who has competed in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York. After losing his KTM ride in MotoGP at the end of the ...

won the

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

with a time of 45:54.736 on his

Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...

. Notably, Spaniard

Joan Mir Joan Mir Mayrata () (born 1 September 1997) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer riding for the Repsol Honda Team, who is best known for winning the 2020 MotoGP World Championship with Suzuki. He is the fourth Spanish rider to win the prem ...

lost his balance on entering a left turn and slid on his side for about 50 metres before managing to use the momentum as he entered the gravel pit to seamlessly regain his footing and fluidly transfer his momentum into a running action. Mir was still able to come 11th and salvage 5 points. Mir's smooth recovery became a popular

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

in various incarnations.

Background

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The opening rounds of the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

championship were heavily affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the aborted opening round in Qatar, prompting the

Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM; en, International Motorcycling Federation) is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 116 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regiona ...

to draft a new calendar. On 11 June, a new schedule based solely within Europe was announced. The French Grand Prix, originally scheduled for May 17 as the sixth Grand Prix of the season, was placed on October 11.

MotoGP Championship standings before the race

After his victory in the Catalan Grand Prix,

Fabio Quartararo Fabio Quartararo (; born 20 April 1999), nicknamed El Diablo, is a French Grand Prix motorcycle rider racing in MotoGP for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP. Having won the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, he is the first French World Champion in th ...

climbed to the top of the drivers' standings with 108 points, 8 points ahead of

and 18 over

Maverick Viñales Maverick Viñales Ruiz (; born 12 January 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Viñales is the 2013 Moto3 World Champion, currently riding in MotoGP for the Aprilia Racing team, after five seasons as a MotoGP factory rider with the ...

. Andrea Dovizioso, previous leader of the classification, due to the accident with

Johann Zarco Johann Zarco (born 16 July 1990) is a French Grand Prix motorcycle racer, best known for winning the and Moto2 World Championships with his 2015 triumph being a record points total for the intermediate class. He rides for Pramac Racing. Zarc ...

in the Catalan race, fell to fourth place with 84 points, followed by Franco Morbidelli with 77 points. In the team championship, Petronas Yamaha SRT with 185 points leads the Suzuki Ecstar Team Championship with 160. Monster Energy Yamaha is third with 148 points, followed by the Ducati Team and Pramac Racing with 123 and 118 points respectively.

MotoGP Entrants

* Stefan Bradl replaced Marc Márquez from the Czech Republic round onwards while he recovered from injuries sustained in his opening round crash.

Free practice

MotoGP

The first session took place in wet conditions and saw Bradley Smith as the fastest ahead of

and

. The second session was held in changing and mixed conditions between wet and dry, with

Jack Miller Jack Miller may refer to: Military * Jack Miller (USMC officer) (1920–1942), American marine soldier * Jack Duppa-Miller (1903–1994), British recipient of the George Cross in World War II, originally called Jack Miller * USS ''Jack Miller'', ...

the fastest ahead of

and

Takaaki Nakagami is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle racer, competing for LCR Honda Idemitsu in MotoGP. He won the Japanese Road Race Championship 125cc class in 2006 and J-GP2 class in 2011. Career Early career Born in Chiba, Nakagami joined the Japanese ...

. The third session had dry track conditions with

the fastest ahead of

Miguel Oliveira Miguel Ângelo Falcão de Oliveira (; born 4 January 1995) is a Portuguese professional motorcycle racer who competes in the MotoGP World Championship for RNF MotoGP Team, getting the step up from KTM Tech3,

and

Franco Morbidelli Franco Morbidelli (born 4 December 1994) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer in MotoGP, riding for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team. He became champion in the 2013 European Superstock 600 Championship, and the 2017 Moto2 World Champio ...

Combined Free Practice 1-2-3

The top ten riders (written in bold) qualified in Q2. Personal Best lap In the fourth session, Quartararo was the fastest ahead of Morbidelli and Viñales.

Qualifying

MotoGP

Warm-up

MotoGP

In the warm-up, Franco Morbidelli was the fastest ahead of Maverick Viñales and Cal Crutchlow.

Race

MotoGP

;Notes * –

Álex Rins Álex Rins Navarro (born 8 December 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer for the LCR Honda Castrol in the MotoGP class. He was the 2011 CEV Buckler 125 Junior GP Champion, and made his Grand Prix motorcycle racing debut in the Moto3 ...

is not classified due to finishing the race through pits.

Moto2

* Arón Canet suffered a broken finger in a crash during warm-up and withdrew from the event.

Moto3

MotoE

Race 1

The race, scheduled to be run for 7 laps, was red-flagged after a first-lap accident involving Mattia Casadei. The race was later restarted over 5 laps with the original starting grid. *All bikes manufactured by

Energica Energica Motor Company is an Italian manufacturer of electric motorcycles. The Energica project was started in 2010 in Modena, Italy, by CRP Group, an international company involved in computer numerical control machining and additive manufactu ...

Race 2

*All bikes manufactured by

Championship standings after the race

Below are the standings for the top five riders, constructors, and teams after the round.

MotoGP

;Riders' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings

Moto2

;Riders' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings

Moto3

;Riders' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings

MotoE

Notes

References

External links

* {{MotoGP 2020–29

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Motorcycle Grand Prix Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

French motorcycle Grand Prix

French motorcycle Grand Prix The French motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the World Motorcycle Racing season. The Grand Prix was held on different circuits in its history: on the Charade Circuit (Puy-de-Dôme) between 1959 and 1967, Le Mans circ ...