Source: MotoGP.

Marc Marquez’ record-breaking run in MotoGP shows no signs of slowing after the Spaniard easily overcame a slow start to win again at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans.

It would be an uncharacteristic start for the Repsol Honda rider, falling back off the line to emerge at the tail end of the top 10.

An unfazed Marquez regained his rhythm and began picking off his opponents with ease, ranging up on the leaders and wasting little time in displacing Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi to second.

From there the result was a foregone conclusion; a confident Marquez was never under threat, coasting to a win with 1.5 seconds to spare at the end of 28 laps.

Today’s outcome sees him break a record that has stood for close to four decades as the youngest ever rider to win five successive premier class grand prix. The achievement previously belonged to Mike Hailwood.

He also becomes the first rider since Rossi to win five GPs in a row, a feat the Italian rider achieved in 2008. A commendable ride from Rossi saw him awarded with second at Le Mans today, holding him in good stead in the championship fight.

His second successive second place finish also marks another important milestone in MotoGP – 150 podium finishes in the premier class.

The final podium placing was claimed by Gresini Honda’s Alvaro Bautista, a breakthrough result after a slow start to the season.

Bautista overhauled third from Monster Tech3 Yamaha MotoGP rookie Pol Espargaro, who did well to hang on for fourth.

Dani Pedrosa bought the second Respol Honda home in fifth, clearly struggling as a result of recent forearm surgery.

Sixth went the way of Jorge Lorenzo, with the Spanish favourite’s title hopes fading. Lorenzo made a slow start and a number of mistakes in the initial laps, losing touch with the frontrunners to finish over seven seconds shy of eventual victor.

Stefan Bradl came home in seventh for LCR Honda, with Andrea Dovizioso unlucky to drop back to eighth after leading the race early for Ducati.

Aleix Espargaro was ninth overall and first Open rider home once again, with Bradley Smith completing the top 10 on the second Tech3 mount.

Broc Parkes fought valiantly for Paul Bird Motorsport but couldn’t bridge the performance gap his in-house built bike had to his regular rivals.

The dependable Aussie soldiered on to register an 18th place finish, another important exercise to further develop the PBM package.

Mika Kallio claimed his second consecutive win in the Moto2 class, breaking clear of the battling pack behind him to build a comfortable gap.

The Marc VDS Racing rider was in the hunt from the first lap, and bided his time behind NGM Forward Racing’s Simone Corsi before moving clear for a 1.015-second victory.

Corsi’s attention was diverted by his pursuants, with Esteve Rabat ranging up in the closing stages but unable to wrangle a 1-2 finish for Marc VDS, accepting third.

Pons HP40 teammates Maverick Vinales and Luis Salom finished fourth and fifth respectively, holding each other up and falling back from the podium fight in the crucial stages.

Polesitter Jonas Folger was a disappointing sixth for the AGR Team, with Dominique Aegerter, Thom Luthi, Sam Lowes and Franco Morbidelli rounding out the top 10.

Like he has for each race of the season, Australia’s Ant West battled gallantly, fighting his way towards the top 10 after starting from 27th on the grid.

The QMMF Racing Team rider ran as high as 11th in the race but would lose ground late in the piece, bundled back to 14th.

West has scored points in all five grands prix so far and sits a commendable 11th on the standings aboard the older-spec Speed Up machine.

In the Moto3 category it was Australia’s Jack Miller who proved the class of the field, battling bikes with superior straight-line speed to snatch a hugely popular win.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider took the lead at the start and would factor in the top three for the initial stages, superior through corners and under brakes but struggling to match the Honda machines on the straights.

Miller held tough and assured himself a shot at the podium in the latter stages, powering through to the front on the final lap.

He was passed but counter-attacked and made a decisive move back on polesitter, SaxoPrint-RTG’s Efren Vaquez, giving himself an important advantage in the short run to the chequered flag.

Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins finished second, just 0.095 seconds in tow, with Isaac Vinales recording his first podium on the Team Calvo KTM.

Francesco Bagnaia was fourth for SKY Racing Team VR46, with the second Estrella Galicia machine of Alex Marquez in fifth.

Australia’s Arthur Sissis registered his best result of the 2014 season, finishing just outside the points in 17th aboard his Mahindra Racing machine.

The race proved productive for Sissis who made up 10 positions from his qualifying place, and marks just his second race finish from five rounds to date.

2014 MotoGP World Championship
Round five – Le Mans, France

MotoGP race results:
1. Marc MARQUEZ
2. Valentino ROSSI +1.486
3. Alvaro BAUTISTA +3.144
4. Pol ESPARGARO +3.717
5. Dani PEDROSA +4.077
6. Jorge LORENZO +7.088
7. Stefan BRADL +11.527
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO +22.103
9. Aleix ESPARGARO +22.626
10. Bradley SMITH +23.108
18. Broc PARKES (AUS) +1m30.934

MotoGP championship standings (after round five of 18):
1. Marc MARQUEZ 125
2. Dani PEDROSA 83
3. Valentino ROSSI 81
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO 53
5. Jorge LORENZO 45
6. Stefan BRADL 39
7. Pol ESPARGARO 38
8. Aleix ESPARGARO 37
9. Bradley SMITH 34
10. Alvaro BAUTISTA 26
21. Broc PARKES (AUS) 1

Moto2 race results:
1. Mika KALLIO
2. Simone CORSI +1.015
3. Esteve RABAT +1.303
4. Maverick VIÑALES +2.187
5. Luis SALOM +3.619
6. Jonas FOLGER +3.918
7. Dominique AEGERTER +12.324
8. Thomas LUTHI +15.552
9. Sam LOWES +17.627
10. Franco MORBIDELLI +28.704
14. Anthony WEST (AUS) +36.547

Moto2 championship standings (after round five of 18):
1. Esteve RABAT 99
2. Mika KALLIO 92
3. Maverick VIÑALES 62
4. Dominique AEGERTER 58
5. Simone CORSI 53
6. Thomas LUTHI 40
7. Luis SALOM 39
8. Jonas FOLGER 31
9. Xavier SIMEON 29
10. Sandro CORTESE 29
11. Anthony WEST (AUS) 27

Moto3 race results:
1. Jack MILLER (AUS)
2. Alex RINS +0.095
3. Isaac VIÑALES +0.230
4. Francesco BAGNAIA +0.487
5. Alex MARQUEZ +0.931
6. Efren VAZQUEZ +0.940
7. Enea BASTIANINI +1.026
8. John MCPHEE +1.221
9. Alexis MASBOU +1.575
10. Jakub KORNFEIL +2.173
17. Arthur SISSIS (AUS) +34.284

Moto3 championship standings (after round five of 18):
1. Jack MILLER (AUS) 104
2. Romano FENATI 74
3. Efren VAZQUEZ 72
4. Alex RINS 71
5. Alex MARQUEZ 60
6. Isaac VIÑALES 44
7. Jakub KORNFEIL 37
8. Francesco BAGNAIA 36
9. Alexis MASBOU 35
10. Danny KENT 26

Click here for detailed results