The two rivals put on a show in Le Mans but it’s the Italian who takes Saturday honours with Jack Miller and Aleix Espargaro among the top 3
A magnificent performance from Francesco Bagnaia saw him secure consecutive MotoGP™ pole positions for the first time this season at the SHARK Grand Prix de France. The Italian set a new All Time Lap Record in the process, with his 1:30.450 the fastest two-wheeled lap seen around Le Mans. It’s double delight for the Ducati Lenovo Team, as Jack Miller will join his teammate on the front row, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro’s remarkable run of form continuing. The number 41 takes a third consecutive front row.
French favourites Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) have been consigned to second row starts at their home GP.
Title rivals set the early pace
Having missed the top 10 cut in Free Practice, Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) navigated through a perilous session to take their places in the battle for pole, but neither could make their mark in the early exchanges. Instead, the first runs gave us our first Bagnaia and Quartararo showdown of the weekend.
Both riders were keen to get a banker lap in early, and it was the Italian who struck first with an impressive 1:30.6 to sit on top. However, it didn’t take long for Quartararo to get the French fans on their feet as he responded by going 0.011s quicker on his next attempt. As the riders returned to their boxes, Round 1 had fallen the way of the reigning World Champion.
Round 2: New contenders entered the fray
As riders returned to the tarmac, they began to close the gap to the top. Zarco was the first to improve and put himself on the front row provisionally, while Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) had gone under…