Máximo Quiles claimed his third victory of the 2026 Moto3 season in dominant fashion at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans, further extending his lead in the world championship standings. The Spanish rider conquered treacherous wet conditions and low grip to cross the finish line ahead of compatriot Adrián Fernández and Italy’s Matteo Bertelle.
From the early laps, Quiles controlled the race despite numerous crashes that saw up to 13 riders fall, including Jesús Ríos and Scott Ogden. Brian Uriarte suffered a second crash, Joel Kelso briefly entered the pitlane, and Marco Morelli also hit the ground. The track at Le Mans proved unforgiving, but Quiles remained unfazed, building a margin of over two seconds by the halfway mark.
Adrián Fernández maintained second place but struggled to close the gap, while Matteo Bertelle – after receiving a long lap penalty for cutting turn 10 – mounted a late charge to secure the final podium spot. Veda Prata finished fourth, leading a group with Joel Esteban and Guido Pini.
In the final laps, Quiles extended his advantage to 2.2 seconds as Bertelle set a personal fastest lap in his pursuit of Fernández. However, the Italian ran out of time, leaving the top three unchanged. With this win, Quiles now holds a 46-point lead over Fernández in the championship, having dropped only 10 points in five races.
“It’s been an incredible start to the championship. I’m very happy with the race. The conditions were really difficult with very little grip, but I managed to control it,” Quiles said after celebrating with Álex Márquez in the Le Mans parc fermé.
Fernández, while content with second, acknowledged the challenge: “It’s always very hard to beat Máximo Quiles in a race, but I’ll try again in the next one.” Bertelle added, “This podium is very special. I was already crying on the last lap. I’m so grateful to the team for their work. We’ll try to keep this pace.”
The Moto3 category now heads to the next round with Quiles riding an unstoppable wave – three wins and two second places in five starts – leaving his rivals with a mountain to climb.