Marc Marquez, who broke his thumb when braking and crashed into Miguel Oliveira in the MotoGP season opener in Portimao, returned to action this weekend, only to fall out of the race in the closing stage of the race. With just two laps remaining, everything went wrong for Marquez. The Honda team watched in dismay as he lost control of his bike and went out of the Le Musee hairpin, giving Martin second place. As a consequence, Zarco climbed to third place and remained there until the end, earning the Pramac Team a second podium finish. The MotoGP Court of Appeal determined earlier this week that Marquez would not have to serve the double Long lap penalty he got for causing the incident, rejecting the FIM Stewards' attempt to move the punishment from 'Argentina' to Marquez's following race back.
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MotoGP French GP: Marc Marquez Post-Race Interview
Marquez battled Jorge Martin of Pramac for second place until the very last lap, when he crashed at Turn 6 on the penultimate round. Due to his incident in Portugal, which resulted in a three-race injury hiatus, Marquez has yet to complete a grand prix in 2023. Even though Marquez didn't finish on the podium, he was still quite pleased with his grand prix since it had been a long time since he had felt so good throughout a race.
After the race, the six-time world champion said in an interview that he was pleased with his performance but disappointed that the team had not been able to any good results in the French Grand Prix despite their best efforts.
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MotoGP French GP: Honda-Kalex Chassis in Action
According to Marquez, the Honda bike began to shake as he surged out of Turn 6, which threw him off balance in the braking zone for Turn 7. Marquez, who came in fifth in the sprint race, feels his weekend's results were just what he needed to boost his confidence again after going through a tough patch.
In both the sprint and the grand prix, Marquez used the new Kalex chassis, but he maintained his previous stance that, although it is an improvement, it is not a game changer, citing teammate Joan Mir's difficulties on the same frame at Le Mans as evidence that Honda has to improve.
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