Quartararo Stuns with Electrifying Pole at Le Mans

French superstar smashes the lap record to claim back-to-back poles ahead of the Marquez brothers, underlining Yamaha’s return to form

Fabio Quartararo electrified the home crowd at Le Mans with a jaw-dropping lap in the final moments of qualifying to take a stunning pole position for the French Grand Prix — his second consecutive pole and his first back-to-back pole since 2021.

It was a barnstorming Q2 session that saw lap records shattered and momentum swing like a pendulum. Early on, it was Marc Márquez who looked virtually unbeatable. After going fastest on his first exploratory flyer, he turned up the heat with a 1’29.442 to obliterate his previous track best from Friday, stamping his authority with an incredible lap on soft rubber.

Rookie sensation Fermín Aldeguer lit up the timesheets early, going fastest through Sector 1 and leaping to P2 — an terrific effort that kept him on the second row despite crashing going into the first chicane on the very next lap.

Alex Márquez was in the mix throughout, pushing the lead pair hard before settling for a strong front-row start in third, just 0.129s behind his brother. He was momentarily fastest in Sector 3, but ultimately couldn’t match the explosive final sector of Quartararo.

Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia struggled on his first time attack, languishing down in P11. Shadowed by Morbidelli on his second flying run, Bagnaia improved to P6 with a 1’30.047. However, he couldn’t get anywhere near the front row times and will be aiming to charge forward in the sprint and the main race.

Jack Miller used the slipstream of the Gresini bikes in front to throw down one of his best laps this season and briefly held P5. Though later pushed back by Bezzecchi, Bagnaia and KTM’s Maverick Viñales — who finished fastest of the Austrian marque in 5th — Miller will start from a solid third row position in eighth.

Johann Zarco was pushing hard to latch onto Marc Marquez’s rear tyre in the closing stages but lost the front into Garage Vert, leaving him in P11 just ahead of Pedro Acosta.

In the final minute, Fabio Quartararo wasn’t going to let the chance of pole slip through his fingers in front of a sell-out French crowd. The grandstands erupted as Fabio hammered in a series of blistering sector times and snatched provisional pole with a 1’29.324 — becoming the only rider to better Marc’s previous record-breaking benchmark. Marquez had one final shot to respond but backed off, likely impacted by a yellow flag caused by Franco Morbidelli’s late-session crash.

Fabio Quartararo – “Yeah, to take this pole position here means a lot. Thanks to all the fans for being here and supporting us — it’s really special. This is an important pole, but the points are scored this afternoon and on Sunday. We will give our maximum to make sure the fans enjoy the race. Thank you.”

Marc Marquez – “Fabio is riding in an incredible way — he deserved this pole position in front of his fans. He’s doing an amazing job. Already in Jerez he was super fast, and today he was fast again. When I got back to the box, we were looking at the lap times and Rigamonti said to me, ‘Maybe that lap will be enough.’ But I said, ‘No, I think Fabio will be faster,’ and in the end, he was. I tried, but I pushed a bit too much in the last sector and lost it. But apart from that, I’m happy with my performance — happy to be on the front row, and that was the main target this afternoon.”

Alex Marquez – “Yeah, I mean, really happy to be here. These two guys are having a really good weekend. Fabio is doing a great job — he did his lap at the right moment. That’s what a champion does — he’s able to deliver when it matters. I’m generally really happy with our performance and the step we made yesterday, so we’re ready for the sprint race.”

Le Mans MotoGP Qualifying