Marc Marquez Blitzes Le Mans with Record Pace

Ducati star dominates Friday as Miller muscles into Q2 with late-session charge

Marc Marquez stole the show on the opening day at Le Mans, setting a blistering lap time of 1:29.855 — a new unofficial lap record — eclipsing Jorge Martin’s qualifying benchmark from last season. He looked strong and smooth throughout, and seemed to have a gap on the field in race trim and single lap speed.

Fabio Quartararo, riding an upgraded YZR, delighted the home crowd by clocking the second-fastest time, just 0.177s adrift of Marquez. The Frenchman looked comfortable and fast all session long, with Yamaha is beginning to look like a MotoGP force to contend with once again.

Defending World Champion Francesco Bagnaia rounded out the top three, just 0.184s off the top spot. While the Ducati rider often takes a while to warm up through a race weekend, his pace this early on Friday will be encouraging for the factory squad.

Rookie sensation Fermín Aldeguer continued his impressive recent form, laying down a rapid lap of 1:30.221 to take P4 — ahead of his more experienced Gresini teammate Álex Marquez (P5).

Jack Miller ensured his direct passage to Q2 with a strong sixth-place finish for the Prima Pramac team, putting the Yamaha ahead of both factory KTMs in the process.

Pedro Acosta secured seventh as the top KTM runner ahead of Maverick Viñales, who looked to be on course for a top-three spot but suffered a rare fall — his first of the season — late in the session, dropping him to P8. Nevertheless, with two orange riders through to Q2, the Austrian manufacturer has reason to be optimistic, although not across the board.

Brad Binder had a torrid day, crashing heavily in the final minutes of FP2 and ending up down in 19th. The South African was unable to improve on his FP1 time and now faces a tough task in Saturday’s Q1.

Franco Morbidelli quietly slotted into the top 10 in ninth, just ahead of Marco Bezzecchi, who clinched the final direct Q2 spot by mere tenths in the closing seconds. Bezzecchi capitalized on Johann Zarco’s fall, which occurred as the Frenchman attempted to latch onto Marquez’s rear wheel in the final sector.

Elsewhere, Honda’s struggles continued with none of their bikes inside the top 10, although Luca Marini and Joan Mir showed marginal improvement in 11th and 14th respectively.

French MotoGP Friday Practice