MotoGP title contenders Fabio Quartararo, Joan M🙈ir and Maverick Vinales fighting tooth-and-nail on the last lap of the French Grand Pr𓆉ix was not a surprise.

But the prize up for grabs wasn't a race victo𝄹ry, or even a place on the podium.

Instead the trio were battling over what might turn out to be valuable points for ninth place, which ultimately went in Quartararo's favour by 0.2s ove♕r Vinales, with Mir just 0.085s further back at the end of a wet and wild Le Mans race.

"That fight for𝔍 ninth position was like a fight for victory!" smiled Quartararo. "It was fun and everyone gave 100%.

"Some people said nobody wants to win this championshi🔥p, but we showed everybody wants to win ꧑it!"

Quartararo began the race on pole, but it soon became cleജar that the Yamahas were nowhere near🍎 as competitive in the wet as they had been in the dry.

Struggling to get heat into the rear tyre, Quartararo dropped to eleventh before halting his decline and, aided by mistakes by some of those in front, was at the head of a four-way fight with Stefan Bradl, Mir and Vinales as the last lap💎 began.

Bradl was able to escape, but when Quartararo's nearest🔴 title rival Mir made a pass the Petronas rider had to respond.

"I think it's the first time in a race that I'm thinking about the championship," Quartararo said. "When Joan overtook me I said 'no way'. I will n🦹ot finish without trying something.

"I braked so hard in Turn 9 and overtook him, pushed him a little bit wide but I was also wide because I was over the limit. It was quite fun, I would prefer to finish at the front but thi🅰s was quite a great overtake."

Vinales followed Quartararo through and the Frenchman was therefore able to gain two points on M🤪ir, building his title advantage to 10 points with five races remaining.

'I thought Dovi won today... Then I looked again'

🎉More good news was to follow for the world championship leadไer when he looked up at the TV screens on the slow down lap.

"Honestly, when I crossed the finish line I was happy to finish in front of Joan and M✤averick, but then I looked at the screen and I saw a red guy had won. I said 'Dovi won today so he's getting way closer'.

"But then I looked again and it was Petrucci and I said 𝓀'oh, this is good!' Then I looked at second place, it was Alex, third place was Pol.

"Alex 🧔has been extremely fast today and he deserved a lot the podium. I'm really happy for him, for Petrucci and for Pol because th🧔ey finished in front of Dovi! I think that's great news for us!

"For our first race in the w🐟et it could have been worse. It's really a strange year and I'm happy to still be leading the championship."

Mir, ten points behind Quartararꦇo but eight ahead of Dovizioso, gave a similar 'could be worse' verdict.

"I think both of us [Quartararo and I] had a bad race," said the Suzuki rider. "Both of ꦫus were not in the position that people expected us to be. It was OK, because in dry conditions, [Quartararo] had something more than everyone else, so he had the chance of vict🅰ory today.

"I was not one of the fastest in dry conditions. Probab♚ly we would be fighting for the top five. But at the end, top five for me and Quartararo taking victory would be a bigger points difference. So it🏅's OK like this.

"To make one bad race is allowed, but what we cannot ๊do is to repea♔t this performance in Aragon. We have to get back our feelings, and to be back on the podium."

While more than happy with his dry pace, Quartararo is also wary that they will need to be ✃more competitive in future wet events.

"I'm not worried a💝bout the cold becaus♔e we managed quite well. It's the wet," Quartararo said.

"Our main problem in these kinds of conditions is that we are struggling a lot to warm-up the tyres on the rear on the edge and on the exit. So that's why the beginning🌼 of the race was terrible fo🌃r us.

ꦅ"We risked a lot by making a big change on the bike because in [the wet] FP1 I felt really bad. Actually, it was a better feeling, still struggling a lot to warm-up the 🎶tyres, but I was a bit worried before the race because I never tried the setting I would be racing!

"My first race in the wet, first time with tཧhe setting, in pole position, so I was a bit nervous. But in the end, it was not so bad.

"I think this is a track that favours the more powerful bikes in the wet because you can't really make fast corner speed in the wet. But we also saw that Alex Rins was really fast [on an inline 4], unfortunatel𓆏y he cras🦩hed, but he was there and fighting for victory."

Vinales completes a title top four covered by 19 points, with ꦛfifth place Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) 34 points adrift.