The Spaniard Jorge Martin, leader in the MotoGP world championship, achieved the best time in the only qualifying practice session for the French Grand Prix on Friday, recovering the track record at Le Mans in the process, while the French Fabio Quartararo snatched his place in the Top 10.
On his Ducati-Pramac, the strong man of the day beat the defending champion, the Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and the 19-year-old Spanish nugget Pedro Acosta, driver of the French GasGas Tech3 team.
Buoyed by the cheers of his audience, Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) took the tenth best time in the session held under the sun and 25 degrees – a heat which in no way foreshadows the weather conditions of the weekend, with a risk of rain and thunderstorms expected on Sunday for the race.
“I have really reached my limits” explained the 2021 world champion. “But what matters is not so much 10th place (…), it is above all that we are less than 2/10th” the fourth, the Spaniard Maverick Vinales (Aprilia), he also defended.
The drivers who achieved the ten best times in this session participate directly in the second qualifying session (Q2), which will determine on Saturday morning the first twelve places on the starting grid for the sprint (Saturday at 3:00 p.m.) and the GP on Sunday (2:00 p.m.).
Zarco 20th, Marquez in difficulty
The others will have to go through the repechage (Q1) from 10:50 a.m. (Paris time) following which the two fastest will go to Q2.
Among them, the other Frenchman on the grid Johann Zarco, only 20th aboard his modest Honda-LCR, will try to defend his chances to get his first ticket of the season for Q2.
However, he will have a hard time facing big names like six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez, who also failed in his quest for the Top 10 and will have to go through the repechage for the first time this season, following finishing 13th. .
Victim of a fall at the start of the session, the Spaniard was unable to find the rhythm aboard his Ducati-Gresini.
“This is the first Friday I’ve been in trouble,” he admitted. “It happens, we now have to understand the reasons (…) today, I fought once morest the bike.”
The South African Brad Binder (KTM), generally very good in the exercise but only 17th will also go through Q1 on Saturday, just like the Italian Enea Bastianini, 11th and whose place in the official Ducati team the year next is threatened by Marquez and Martin.
Ranking of the qualifying tests for the French MotoGP Grand Prix, run on Friday on the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans:
1. Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) 1:30.388 (Q)
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) at 0.145 (Q)
3. Pedro Acosta (ESP/GasGaS-Tech3) 0.187 (Q)
4. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Aprilia) 0.269 (Q)
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.295 (Q)
6. Jack Miller (AUS/KTM) 0.311 (Q)
7. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) 0.326 (Q)
8. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Ducati-Pramac) 0.375 (Q)
9. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.397 (Q)
10. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 0.400 (Q)
11. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati) 0.410
12. Raul Fernandez (ESP/Aprilia-Trackhouse) 0.451
13. Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 0.679
14. Alex Rins (ESP/Yamaha) 0.818
15. Miguel Oliveira (POR/Aprilia-Trackhouse) 0.831
16. Augusto Fernandez (ESP/GasGaS-Tech3) 0.855
17. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 0.976
18. Joan Mir (ESP/Honda) 1,133
19. Alex Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 1.142
20. Johann Zarco (FRA/Honda-LCR) 1,186
21. Luca Marini (ITA/Honda) 1,472
22. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Honda-LCR) 1,743
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