After a good third position in Jerez, Lorenzo and Ducati arrived in Sarthe with a very positive state of mind, on a circuit where he has often won, although no Desmosedici has ever won there.
The drivers' vote (20 to 3) deciding that Michelin could no longer supply the less rigid front tires that Lorenzo preferred did not make his task any easier. As Nicolas Goubert of Michelin explained, “ I think what probably bothers Jorge – and I understand his position – is that he was starting to feel comfortable. It was a big change for him to go to Ducati and they changed a lot of things to make him feel more comfortable on the bike. He had a good result in Jerez, but then he has to change tires. So, he needs some time and it's understandable that he's not completely happy with the decision. But it’s a common decision, taken by everyone, and I’m sure he’ll get used to it pretty quickly.”
Lorenzo's tests went poorly, he not feeling at all comfortable in the wet. He finished last in free practice and had to go through Q1. He failed to qualify in Q2 and had to settle for a modest sixteenth position on the starting grid.
Fortunately, his race was much better. Pointed in thirteenth position on the first lap, he then fought at length for eighth position with Jack Miller and Danilo Petrucci. He managed to get ahead of them and move up to seventh place on lap 18, then he gained another position when Valentino Rossi crashed and he finished sixth.
For Jorge Lorenzo, “ Considering my position on the grid and the warm up result, we have to say that it was a pretty positive race for us. It is true that the gap to the winner was very large and, in certain parts of the circuit, I lost a lot, but in general my pace was completely regular and I made no mistakes.
“In the end we finished in a good sixth place, my best result this year after the podium in Jerez, but we have to keep working hard.
“On Tuesday we will be at the Montmeló track for a few days to try to improve the bike. »
Classification of the French Grand Prix:
1. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 43m 29.793s
2. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 43m 32.927s
3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 43m 37.510s
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 43m 41.016s
5. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 43m 43.312s
6. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 43m 53.795s
7. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 43m 55.526s
8. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 44m 2.396s
9. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 44m 15.577s
10. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 44m 18.125s
11. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 44m 19.829s
12. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 44m 22.454s
13. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 44m 22.972s
14. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 44m 25.225s
15. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 44m 36.671s
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
| 1 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | SPA | 85 |
| 2 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 68 |
| 3 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 62 |
| 4 | Marc Márquez | Honda | SPA | 58 |
| 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | FRA | 55 |
| 6 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | ITA | 54 |
| 7 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | GBR | 40 |
| 8 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | SPA | 38 |
| 9 | Jonas Folger | Yamaha | GER | 38 |
| 10 | Jack Miller | Honda | AUS | 29 |
| 11 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 26 |
| 12 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | GBR | 26 |
| 13 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | FRA | 19 |
| 14 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | SPA | 17 |
| 15 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | ITA | 15 |
| 16 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | SPA | 14 |
| 17 | Tito RABAT | Honda | SPA | 13 |
| 18 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | SPA | 12 |
| 19 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 9 |
| 20 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | SPA | 7 |
| 21 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | SPA | 6 |
| 22 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | GBR | 6 |
| 23 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | GBR | 2 |
| 24 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | FRA | 1 |
