– The Ducati factory team secured the best starting position at the French Grand Prix on the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans. Francesco Bagnaia took pole position ahead of Marc Marquez. World Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) was third.
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The sun was also shining on Saturday morning, and it was a wonderful spring day. Towards the end of FT2, Johann Zarco (LCR-Honda) crashed. On the other hand, Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), the second Frenchman in the field, set the best time.
In Q1, all eyes were on Marc Marquez, as the world champion had missed the top 10 on Friday. After the first attempts, Quartararo and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia) were in the first two positions.
Marc Marquez was third. However, he was only 0.021 seconds behind Quartararo’s time. After changing the rear tire, lap times became significantly faster.
With 1:29.288 minutes, Marc Marquez set a new lap record for the Bugatti Circuit. With this time, he was four tenths of a second faster than Quartararo. Both advanced to Q2 (to the Q1 results).
In the decisive 15 minutes, Bezzecchi set the pace with 1:29.825 minutes on his first attempt. Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati) and Jorge Martin (Aprilia) followed in second and third places.
In the second attempts, times got faster. Marc Marquez set the pace with 1:29.646 minutes. Di Giannantonio came close to this mark and was only 0.053 seconds behind.
Subsequently, some tactical games took place between the two Ducati riders regarding track position. This cost both a flying lap. Neither Marc Marquez nor “Diggia” improved their times further.
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Instead, Bagnaia set the fastest lap with 1:29.634 minutes. For the first time since Malaysia in autumn 2025, the two-time MotoGP world champion claimed pole position again.
“I hope that everything is slowly coming together,” says Bagnaia. “It’s never easy to say that, especially after what happened last year. So stay calm, stay grounded, and keep working just as before.”
“At the test [in Jerez], we definitely found something that helps me. Now we just have to keep going and try to stay at the same level this afternoon.”
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Bagnaia was 0.012 seconds faster than his teammate Marc Marquez. “I’m currently in a phase where I don’t understand many things,” admits the Spaniard. “I have to understand how I ride.”
“It’s true that I can’t be consistent at the moment. But when I have that extra adrenaline rush, then I can do it because I know how to ride a motorcycle fast. I just can’t do it consistently.”
“As seen in Q1, I rode that incredible lap which I couldn’t repeat in Q2. But it was enough. Step by step, we’ll see if we can understand what’s going on.”
Bezzecchi third with the Aprilia
Bezzecchi completed the front row in third place. The Aprilia rider was only 0.023 seconds behind and says: “It’s a difficult weekend because this track is extremely demanding and the gaps are always very tight.”
“But today we improved a bit compared to yesterday. Already this morning I immediately had a better feeling on the bike and the fast lap was really fun.”
Di Giannantonio was fourth with only 0.065 seconds behind. Pedro Acosta put the best KTM in fifth place in the middle of the second row. Quartararo took starting position six (to the Q2 results).
The places in the third row were secured by Joan Mir (Honda), Martin, and Ai Ogura (Trackhouse-Aprilia). Jerez winner Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati) was tenth after a crash in the first chicane.
The time gaps in the field were very close, as the top 10 were within three tenths of a second. Last year’s winner Zarco was eleventh. Alex Rins (Yamaha) was the last in Q2.
Jonas Folger, who replaces Maverick Vinales in the Tech3-KTM team, qualified 22nd and last. In Q1, the German was two and a half seconds behind Marc Marquez’s best time.
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The sprint over 13 laps starts at 3:00 PM (to the starting grid).
This report is continuously updated
