Loris Baz, who qualified in 12th position, continued to lack feeling with the front of his Ducati Desmosedici GP15 when taking his place on the starting grid. Despite this, the Frenchman gave everything to move up the hierarchy, while avoiding pitfalls. Tenth at the start of the last loop, the Frenchman finally benefited from the error made by Valentino Rossi to reach the finish line in ninth place.
Delighted with this result, Loris Baz is already preparing for two days of private testing in Barcelona, during which he will evaluate the new front tire that Michelin will offer at the next Mugello meeting. He will also take the opportunity to perfect the set-up of his machine, with the aim of finding the feeling he missed in France.
For Loris Baz, “ The race went well. We did not find solutions to our problems during the warm-up. So we decided to go with the configuration that seemed best to us.
“Even though our pace wasn't bad, we knew we had to keep our backs. By being as consistent as possible, I was convinced that we would be able to achieve a good result, which I managed to do. Pol (Espargaró) hampered me for around ten laps, but I managed to get rid of him. I then got into a fight with Andrea (Iannone).
“We had a nice fight which I ultimately won. I finished ninth, my best result on a dry track. Ending the weekend in these circumstances bodes well for the future.
“We are going to carry out tests in Barcelona during which we will evaluate the latest tire that will be offered from Mugello. We will also take the opportunity to find solutions to our problems with the front of the machine and get ahead. »
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 |
