Johann Zarco was the fastest rider on Friday (8) during the practice sessions for the French GP, the fifth round of the 2026 MotoGP season, held in Le Mans. In the session that determined the ten riders who advance directly to Q2 of Saturday’s qualifying, the Frenchman from LCR Honda recorded his best lap at 1min29s907, surprising with the day’s lead.
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The second position went to Fabio Di Giannantonio, a VR46 rider, Ducati’s satellite team, who was only 0.010 seconds behind Zarco’s time. Francesco Bagnaia, with an official team Ducati, was third, followed by Álex Márquez, fourth with a Gresini Ducati. The top five group also included Joan Mir, a Honda rider.
Jorge Martín recorded the sixth best time of the day with an Aprilia, a team that saw Marco Bezzecchi, the championship leader, finish Friday with the seventh best time. Álex Rins, with a Yamaha, was the eighth fastest, with Ai Ogura, with a Trackhouse Aprilia, in ninth. Pedro Acosta, with a KTM, was tenth and closes the list of riders directly qualified for Q2.
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Notably absent from the top-10 and who will have to go through the initial qualifying round is Marc Márquez. The current world champion and Ducati rider was only 13th in this morning’s session. Diogo Moreira, with an LCR Honda, was 19th and will also have to go through Q1 qualifying.
The MotoGP schedule will continue this Saturday (9), first with free practice at 5:10, followed by qualifying at 5:50. The Sprint will also be held the same day at 10:00. The French GP will take place on Sunday, starting at 9:00.
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