MotoGP – French Grand Prix – 2026

MotoGP French Grand Prix 2026 – Le Mans

The Grand Prix de France Moto is one of the longest-standing fixtures on the MotoGP calendar. From May 8 to 10, 2026, the motorcycle world championship returns to the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans – a track built in 1965 within the perimeter of the legendary 24-hour course and a staple of Grand Prix racing ever since. As the sixth round of the season, Le Mans welcomes the MotoGP™, Moto2™ and Moto3™ classes to a race weekend that regularly draws crowds of over 100,000 spectators.

Track and Statistics

The Bugatti Circuit spans 4.185 kilometres and features 14 corners (5 left, 9 right) across a track width of 13 metres. The longest straight measures 674 metres and allows top speeds in excess of 320 km/h. Le Mans is defined by its abundance of slow corners taken in first gear – late braking, hard acceleration and rear-tyre traction are the decisive factors here.

The current MotoGP lap record belongs to Marc Márquez, who set a time of 1:29.855 in 2025 aboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP25, beating Jorge Martín’s previous benchmark of 1:29.919 from 2024 by just under seven hundredths of a second.

Le Mans as a Destination

The city of Le Mans lies approximately 200 kilometres south-west of Paris and is reachable in under an hour by TGV high-speed rail from the capital. Beyond motorsport, Le Mans is world-renowned for its 24-hour car race and offers a charming medieval old town, the Cité Plantagenêt. Numerous campsites adjacent to the circuit make the race weekend a popular festival experience for motorcycle fans from across Europe.

Full Schedule (Local Time, CEST)

Friday, May 8

• 09:00–09:35 – Moto3™ Free Practice 1
• 09:50–10:30 – Moto2™ Free Practice 1
• 10:45–11:30 – MotoGP™ Free Practice 1
• 13:15–13:50 – Moto3™ Practice
• 14:05–14:45 – Moto2™ Practice
• 15:00–16:00 – MotoGP™ Practice

Saturday, May 9

• 08:40–09:10 – Moto3™ Free Practice 2
• 09:25–09:55 – Moto2™ Free Practice 2
• 10:10–10:40 – MotoGP™ Free Practice 2
• 10:50–11:05 – MotoGP™ Qualifying 1
• 11:15–11:30 – MotoGP™ Qualifying 2
• 12:45–13:00 – Moto3™ Qualifying 1
• 13:10–13:25 – Moto3™ Qualifying 2
• 13:40–13:55 – Moto2™ Qualifying 1
• 14:05–14:20 – Moto2™ Qualifying 2
• 15:00 – MotoGP™ Tissot Sprint (13 Laps)

Sunday, May 10

• 09:40–09:50 – MotoGP™ Warm-up
• 11:00 – Moto3™ Race (20 Laps)
• 12:15 – Moto2™ Race (22 Laps)
• 14:00 – MotoGP™ Grand Prix (27 Laps)

Tickets and Admission

A 3-day general admission ticket starts at €117. Sunday-only tickets are available for €101. Admission includes access to natural grandstands and 19 giant screens positioned around the circuit. Children under 16 enter free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Covered and uncovered grandstand seats range from €171 to €179 for the three-day weekend. VIP packages such as the Prestige Lounge (from €880) and the Grand Prix Club (€750) were sold out at the time of writing.

Event Overview

Event: Grand Prix de France Moto 2026
Date: May 8–10, 2026
Circuit: Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, France
Track Length: 4.185 km
Corners: 14 (5 Left, 9 Right)
MotoGP Laps: 27
Sprint Laps: 13
Timezone: CEST (UTC+2)
Website: gpfrancemoto.com