France's team captain led from the front, displaying his commitment and national pride from the drop of the gate in the first moto. Sweeping into second within half-a-lap he immediately chased down year-long GP rival Jorge Prado, for six laps as the duo moved relentlessly clear of their chasers before executing a pass to take the lead and immediately opened up a gap before the leaders encountered lapped traffic. With an eye to the national team scores he wisely did not risk pushing harder than necessary on a slippery race-track surface and fell victim to a surprise pass by his rival with four laps remaining. Supported by the massive home crowd the Frenchman dug deep to immediately respond and, with an exhilarating downhill pass, he moved back to the front and sprinted clear of his rival to claim the first home victory of the day on his 2024 KX™450 for the ecstatic crowd.