Issue #618: Home town hero

This week’s edition begins with MotoGP, where a chaotic race in mixed conditions at Le Mans culminated in Johann Zarco triumphing on home soil, becoming the first Frenchman to do so in the series since 1954! Eden Hannigan covered all the action. Elsewhere, the FIA World Endurance Championship grid descended on Belgium last weekend for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, an event that concluded with Ferrari taking the top two spots. Phil Oakley and Mo Rehman were on the ground to report live straight from the iconic venue and James Moy took the images. Plus there is more Sportscar action to catch up on as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship raced at Laguna Seca. The FIA European Rally Championship resumed with the second round: the Staff House Rally Hungary. Roope Korhonen triumphed on his debut in the category, an accolade that David Ledbitter reported on. And looking ahead, there is more rallying action coming up this weekend with the FIA World Rally Championship heading to Portugal, while the World Rally-Raid Championship reconvenes for the South Africa Safari Rally. Across the pond, Alex Palou once again proved untouchable in the NTT IndyCar Series as he made it four victories in five races with a win in the Sonsio Grand Prix. Kevin Dejewski reported from Indianapolis. There was no racing in FIA Formula 1 to cover over the previous weekend, but Alpine provided talking points with the news that Jack Doohan has been demoted and Oliver Oakes has tendered his resignation. That inspired Jack Smith to speak about the man back calling the shots at the team, Flavio Briatore, in Start Your Engines. Meanwhile, Taylor Powling discusses whether McLaren’s sizeable advantage six races into the 2025 campaign could cause the team’s rivals to switch attention to 2026. And, as always, we have all the usual news, views and stories in this week's edition of the most widely read weekly motorsport magazine in the world!