These Are The Winners And Losers From The 2021 French GP

Jack Miller followed up his Jerez GP success with a win at the Bugatti circuit in France. The race was filled with massive drama, courtesy of the changing weather conditions that brought in lots of spills and interesting tyre strategies. Here are the winners and losers from Le Mans:

Biggest Winner: Jack Miller
Miller seemed to be a different man altogether. He was under tremendous pressure after failing to live up to the high expectations in the first three rounds of the season. And boy, did he find a way to bounce back from this slump!

Miller got a brilliant start and led the field on the opening lap. As the weather changed for the worse, Miller lost his lead as the leaders gingerly made their way into the pits. Later, when he came out on full wets, he was slapped with two long lap penalties for speeding in the pitlane. Still, nothing could deter him from winning the race comfortably. Miller has put himself back in the title contention as he is only 16 points behind new championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Other Winners
Ducati
Not only did Miller capitalise on the mixed weather conditions but also his fellow Ducati title challengers who made hay while the sun didn’t shine. Miller’s factory teammate Francesco Bagnaia rode a superb race to climb up twelve positions from his starting grid to earn the fourth spot. He did lose his championship lead to Fabio, but the gap between the two now is just of a single point. Meanwhile, Johann Zarco managed to hunt down Fabio in the dying stages of the race to clinch second, making it a 1-2 finish for the Italian bikemaker once again. He, too, improved his stake in the championship, 11 points behind his compatriot in third.

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Fabio Quartararo
It was deja vu for Fabio Quartararo at Le Mans as the French rider. Just like it was in 2020, he was the favourite to romp away with the win in dry weather conditions. But the heavens opened up just as he took the lead and was about to run away with it. Nevertheless, the outcome was much, much better than last season. Commendable, actually, considering it was his first flag-to-flag race, and he not only finished third but also managed to snatch the championship lead from Bagnaia.

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Biggest Loser: Maverick Vinales
Oh lord, what can Yamaha do about Maverick ‘Top Gun’ Vinales? Even though he led momentarily on the second lap, he was no where near the front of the field as the race went on. He showed maturity in the opening round, but ever since that win in Losail, he has once again slipped back into the mid-field. If Yamaha wants to mount a serious challenge, Vinales will need to step up his game in the coming few rounds. Else, the Japanese bikemaker could very well look past him, and instead bring over Franco Morbidelli to the factory team.

Other Losers
Suzuki
Both Alex Rins and reigning MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir had a horrid afternoon in France. Rins crashed out just after coming out of the pits for full wet tyres, mounted the bike, hopped onto a new bike on the following lap, and then crashed again a few laps later. Poor Mir couldn’t even bring his bike back to the pits as the heavens opened up. A weekend to forget for Suzuki for sure.

Marc Marquez
From what it seemed like it was going to be an incredible return to the top to ultimately a nightmarish end, Marc Marquez was left feeling distraught and frustrated. Marquez simply played the cards right, emerging first from the pits after the bike swaps. He became a bit too eager to open up a gap on the field and ultimately, crashed as his Michelin medium rear was simply not up to temperature. After remounting, he looked like the man from 2019, hunting down everyone in his path. He was going to gamble on another bike swap and going on slicks on a drying track, which could have potentially changed the race once again. However, before he could execute the plan, he slipped and ended the day once again in the gravel traps.

Petronas Yamaha Team
Another team that didn’t fare well at Le Mans was the Petronas Yamaha SRT. A coming together of both riders -- Valentino Rossi and Franco Morbidelli -- with Honda’s Pol Espargaro on the opening lap, ruined the chance for all three riders. Franco, who was nursing an ankle sprain, crashed in the process and couldn’t carry on in the wet conditions. Rossi’s great wet weather experience did help him climb up a few places, but as the track began to dry out, he too slipped down the order. Is it finally time up for The Doctor?

The championship now heads to the incredibly fast Mugello circuit that’s nestled in the Tuscany hills of Italy. It is Ducati’s and Rossi’s backyard, but we expect only the Italian team to be challenging for the win. There are some big announcements expected to take place there, especially the one regarding Rossi’s VR46 MotoGP team for next season.