Quartararo wrestles pole from Marquez in front of rapturous home crowd

Flying Frenchman never felt so apt: ‘El Diablo’ does it again as the roof comes off Le Mans.

He’s only gone and done it again. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) left nothing on the table to make it back-to-back pole positions at the Michelin Grand Prix of France, taking a third pole at Le Mans and setting a new record with a 1:29.324. That forces Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) to settle for second for a second Grand Prix in a row, with Championship leader Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) completing the front row.

Q1 SCRAP: fine margins as the fans get what they want
As usual, the first hurdle for those unable to get into the top ten in Practice yesterday was Q1 but the session wasn’t without dramas. There was a red flag after Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) fell at Turn 9 but he was OK, it was the bike needing some extra time to be retrieved as it revved on. By the time the session got back underway, it was close at the summit but Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) went top with less than three minutes remaining, ahead of Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team). Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) charged late on but missed out on a Q2 spot by 0.010s, with the top five covered by just 0.080s. However, moving through, Zarco got part one done, with Fernandez into Q2 for the first time since Thailand.

Q2 THRILLER: a late twist with a home star shining
With two Frenchmen into Q2, there were always going to be fireworks to decide pole. A new lap record was set as Marc Marquez obliterated his Practice time from Friday with a 1:29.442 in his first run, holding over three tenths over Quartararo who moved onto a provisional front row slot ahead of Championship leader Alex Marquez. Meanwhile, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was down in P11 as he struggled again to make progress up the grid.

All eyes were now on the second run for riders but surely there was no catching Marc Marquez on top, despite Fermin Aldeguer’s (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) best attempts, going P2 before he crashed at Turn 3. He wasn’t the only crasher as Zarco fell at Turn 8 having put himself in P6 before having his lap time deleted. Alex Marquez was on a strong lap too with less than 90 seconds left on the clock, demoting his teammate to take P2.

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DON’T DISCOUNT FABIO: ‘El Diablo’ stuns in front of huge home crowd
Despite Marc Marquez looking near certain for pole, there was no guarantee in Quartararo’s mind, as the #20 pulled out a heroic lap to snatch a home pole and deny the #93 for a second consecutive Grand Prix. The crowd went crazy as for the first time since 2021, it’s back-to-back poles for ‘El Diablo’, ahead of the Marquez brothers: Marc in P2 and Alex P3. Heading up the second row and missing out on a career-first front row, Aldeguer still makes it a personal best on the grid, whilst Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) is on the second row for the third straight GP in P5. Bagnaia also made up some ground to bag sixth and will need a fast start to have a say on the podium battle. That has been a speciality, however.

CHASING FROM BEHIND: Bezzecchi heads up third row
On the third row, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) was the best of the Aprilia riders whilst Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) has his eyes on a prize from the middle of the third row. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) crashed on his final flying lap so will go from ninth, with Raul Fernandez completing the top ten, his second of the season in qualifying. Joining him on the fourth row, Zarco and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with the latter struggling in the 15-minute shootout.