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Michael Laverty missed out on MotoGP championship points on Sunday after finishing 17th in the French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

The Toomebridge man, riding for the Paul Bird Racing team, was well down the field in a race won by Dani Pedrosa with Britain's Cal Crutchlow second.

Marc Marquez recovered from a poor start to claim third.

Laverty secured his first points in MotoGP earlier this month by coming in 13th at Jerez in Spain.

The former British Superbikes competitor was 17th in the opening race and 16th in Texas.