Like Friday, the sky was blue on the Le Mans circuit at the start of this session, but it was still cool, with an ambient temperature of 16°C, that of the track being measured at 17°C. The riders all took to the track with soft tyres, front and rear.
Jorge Martín finished the first stint in the lead with a time of 1’31.798, a personal improvement but still far from the benchmark set by Enea Bastianini on Friday, in 1’31.148. The Madrilenian was ahead of Takaaki Nakagami, whose second position was not enough to ensure a place in the top 10 in the aggregate of sessions, and therefore in Q2, while Fabio Quartararo was third ahead of Marc Márquez and Pecco Bagnaia.
In his second stint, Quartararo took power for less than three hundredths, before improving his time again, but the gap remained less than one tenth. Moments later, Pol Espargaró crashed at high speed at Chemin aux Bœufs, creating a thick cloud of dust in the gravel pit. The Repsol Honda driver was quickly able to get up to return to his garage.
After the mid-session milestone, Nakagami picked up the pace and posted a time of 1’31.471, which put him in the lead of the session and fourth in the combined standings… but this performance was erased from the tablets, the Japanese having slightly touched the green zone on leaving the last corner.
Still holder of the best time of the weekend, Enea Bastianini abandoned his Ducati on the edge of the track fifteen minutes from the checkered flag, the bike having started to let out smoke. His teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio also encountered a problem at the end of the pit lane, and he returned to his garage.
This is the moment that the Aprilia riders have chosen to take the lead. Maverick Viñales set the fastest time of the day and was soon beaten by teammate Aleix Espargaró. Quartararo retook the lead shortly after and Marc Márquez, who was in the wheel of the Frenchman, was able to move up to second place.
With ten minutes remaining to secure a direct qualification in Q2, Quartararo finally beat the time set by Bastianini on Friday and thus set the new track record of 1’30″847. In his wake, Márquez almost lost control of his bike but he also improved his time, nevertheless half a second behind the leader.Several riders came between them, including Pecco Bagnaia, who had briefly left the top 10 in the cumulative sessions.
Zarco takes the lead at the last moment
In the last five minutes, Fabio Quartararo took to the track, once again with Marc Márquez in his wheel. These last laps were essential to ensure a Q2 for which Johann Zarco was no longer qualified.
Bagnaia took the lead, pushing Quartararo back to 0″279. The Frenchman did not improve his time but behind him, Márquez was able to move up to third place. The two men were entitled to one last attempt and Quartararo was finally able to close 0″114 from Bagnaia. Márquez also improved his time and consolidated his third place.
Johann Zarco had moved up to fifth place and, at the very last moment, the Frenchman took first place, 0″031 ahead of Bagnaia. The two Ducati representatives retained the first two places ahead of Quartararo and Márquez, who thanked the Yamaha rider for his help, Jack Miller was fifth ahead of Aleix Espargaró, Takaaki Nakagami, Álex Rins and Pol Espargaró.
These nine drivers will compete in Q2 but not Jorge Martín, tenth in the morning and only 11th by combining the three sessions. The Pramac driver is overtaken by Enea Bastianini, only 16th in this first part of the day. In Q1, Martín will face Maverick Viñales, Joan Mir, Franco Morbidelli and Andrea Dovizioso in particular to try to clinch the last two places for Q2, where pole will be decided.
French GP – MotoGP – EL3
