Marc Marquez’s late overtake of Francesco Bagnaia at the ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚFrench MotoGP was a victory in a “mental game”, it has been claimed.

T☂he Gresﷺini rider swooped on the last lap to sensationally pass the factory Ducati rider, and claim P2 at Le Mans.

But the wider context is the psychological advantage Marquez tookꦬ from Bagnaia in France, after Bagnaia emerged victorious in their wheel-toܫ-wheel scrap in Jerez.

“From🀅 13th on the grid, normꦅally you have no chance,” Sylvain Guintoli said on TNT Sports.

“It’s impossible. Even if you have a good start, you make inroads, and you make no mistakes, you are going to get tangled in battles that🐽 you don’t want to be involved in. Y💯ou are going to lose time.

“He was able to make🐟 passes sti⛦ck. He capitalised on a mistake by Maverick Vinales.

“Every opportunity f꧂or Marc, he managed to stick his front wheel in and make it stick. T꧃o not lose time.

“It is so hard to do, when you start from that far ꧒back.

“The battle with Fabio di Giannantonio was super-clean up the inside. Di Giannantonio twice tried to r🌺e♌spond.

“On the final lap, the pass on Bagnaia…

“How far back was he, when he launched the attack? Unbelievab💙le how he managed to stop that, and make it stick.

“Look at him on the inside, there’s no way you can stop that. He stil🦂l does it. He uses the kerb on the exit and makes it stick.

“He defends on the last sec♋tion. Inch perfect. He covers the line, there is no way 𝔉Pecco can get second-place back.

“He wins the duel. The duel that he lost in💯 Jerez. 

“That will matter to Marc.꧋ And to Pecco, actually.

“These are mental games. This is really important fo🐷r the rest of the seas🍬on.

“Marc got his own back.”

Michael Laverty said about the French MotoGP which Jorge Martin won: “I had b꧒een waiting for this three-man battle.

“They are the class acts in MotoGP now, and are on similar machinery. Marc’s is a yeaꦜr-ol𒊎d version and he’s battling two GP24s.

“But the tools Marc has got? The team that Marc has got aಌround him? It’s enough.

“If he was on the second r🅘ow, it would 🌟have been a different kettle of fish.

“I💝t’s nice to see how much he’s loving it. It is reigniting his passion for the sport.”

Guintoli replied: “He sacrificed everything.🅺 His contract at Honda, a whole lot of money, just to enjoy himself racing again.

“It goes back to 2020, the massive injury then the years that followedꦫ which we💖re difficult on the sporting side because his bike wasn’t competitive.

“When you♎ know you’ve got the weapon underneath you, and the team who can bring you to podiums and fights for victory, there is nothing that feels so good.

“He will feel that the sacrifices were worth it.”