MotoGP 2019: 5 Talking Points from the French Grand Prix

Another race, another win and another domination of the complete field by Marc Marquez. Jack Miller, for a while, did put up some fight against Marquez.

He overtook the world champion early in the race but as it panned out, Marquez was able to get his elbows out, retake the lead and then just go back to cruise mode leaving everyone in his wake to notch up another win of the season.

Behind the battle for the lead, there were some interesting battles and scenarios that were developing up and down the field and there was decent action throughout the race.

With LeMans done and dusted, let's go through the top 5 talking points from the French Grand Prix.

#1 Can anyone stop Marquez?

It was another vintage performance from Marc Marquez and what he's doing is to make the rest of the field look ordinary.

Every weekend he steps up, does the business in qualifying and then marches off in the race. If it wasn't for the innocuous fall that he suffered in Texas, Marquez would have an even bigger margin on the rest of the field.

So coming back to the question can anyone stop him? Three riders have shown the potential to challenge Marc but again, all three need to raise their game.

Dovizioso needs to sort out his qualifying, Alex Rins is in an even worse predicament and the third rider is Jack Miller who has been on it most of the times and it does seem that he's extracting the most out of that Pramac Ducati.

So to answer the question, yes Marc Marquez can be stopped but unless the riders and the manufacturers up their game it's just not going to happen.

#2 Rins needs to start qualifying better

Rins needs to step up in qualifying if he has to mount a championship challenge for Marquez

Alex Rins has probably one of the best bikes when it comes to the Raceday. But at the same time, he seems to have the worst when it comes to qualifying.

With regularity, Rins has qualified in woeful positions this year and pulled off some amazing results on Raceday.

He's been able to do it because Suzuki is an amazing race bike and one of the best on the grid.

But at the same time, Suzuki's poor qualifying form has hurt Rins badly.

If Rins has any aspirations of putting together a title challenge then he needs to start putting together better qualifying performances because more often than not he's been putting himself in situations where he's left with just too much to do on Sunday.

#3 Another sorry season in store for Yamaha?

It was another weekend where the Yamahas were off the pace

Every weekend one finds Maverick Vinales starting on a positive note. He has put together some great Fp1s and Fp2 recently.

But then as the weekend progresses, Yamaha along with Vinales keep slipping backwards. It's a worrying trend but after a handful of races done, some things have become obvious. Yamaha is, at best the fourth fastest team on the grid and it is only Rossi's talents and grit that is keeping it at a respectable place.

Vinales looks a pale shadow of himself waiting for the bike giant to wake up and provide him with a bike capable of displaying his talents while Rossi has been just trying to maximize whatever he can on every weekend.

There's been some progress from the Japanese manufacturer but the lack of power and deficit in electronics is just too obvious on the straights where Yamaha just looks like a sitting duck many a time.

This season seems to be going in the same direction as the last one and the team would really need to buckle up to start making up ground on the frontrunners.

#4 Quartararo is a star of the future

The form, the speed, the temperament, and the composure that Fabio has shown earmarks him as the rider for the future

Last two races should be evidenced enough for anyone to earmark Fabio Quartararo as the star of the future.

This kid is special and on that Petronas Yamaha, he's put together exhibition after exhibition of his great talent in the last two races.

He was unlucky to have missed out on the podium at Jerez and slightly unfortunate with the start in LeMans. But his racing, his speed, and his composure have shown that this kid is meant for big things.

He's given Franco Morbidelli, Rossi's prodigy, a run for his money and by the end of the year, it would be interesting to see who ends up on top in the standings.

He's already notched up a pole position in that Yamaha and it won't be a surprise if he pulls off something similar before the season ends.

#5 Is Miller doing enough to get that Ducati seat?

Miller still needs to put together a few clean weekends where he beats Petrucci fair and square

It's an open secret that Jack Miller and Danilo Petrucci are in a direct battle for that Factory seat at Ducati. Danilo Petrucci was offered a one year contract last year at the Factory Ducati.

A lot depends on the performance of both the riders when the Ducati think tank sits down to decide who they would like to see at the second seat at Ducati.

In the early races, one thing that has been evident is that Miller is more often than not a match for the factory Ducatis in the Pramac.

He has qualified either ahead or in the vicinity of the factory Ducatis often and has notched up a podium as well.

But then at the same time, although Petrucci hasn't shown the breathtaking speed on the bike, he has shown a certain sense of maturity.

He has currently racked up more points than Jack in this season. For now, it's neck and neck between the two and the battle could carry on for much longer before the decision is made for the two riders.

Edited by Alan John