Francesco Bagnaia was delighted after reaching the ‘limit’ at the French Grand Prix, ‘that’s really satisfying’.

Bagnaia has finished just two of the first four Grands Prix this season and also had a best result of P9 in America. He has scored back-to-back podiums in the last two Sprints with P2 in the United States and Spain, but his lack of pace at Grands Prix has become a concern.

Ducati Friday saw positive signs at Le Mans, however, with Bagnaia finishing third in the LCR star. Yohan Zarco put his pace in practice at the French GP. The Italian led the Bologna Bullets in practice, with team-mate Marc Marquez only packing P13 and qualifying through Q1.

Yohan Zarco set himself the fastest practice time at Le Mans in Q2… Can Marc Marquez get through in Q1? 👀

Francesco Bagnaia is ‘delighted’ after reaching ‘the limit’ in practice at the 2026 French Grand Prix.

Bagnaia is feeling the benefits of Ducati’s new fairing. After testing it during post-race testing in Jerez to find a better feel with the front end of the Desmosedici GP26. He thinks that Ducati’s improvements have paid off at Le Mans, as he was able to reach his “limit” during practice.

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Zarco set the fastest time on Friday with a 1:29.907 in the VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio GP26. Bagnaia and Gresin’s Alex Marquez both recorded laps of 1:30.045 on GP26s to finish P3 and P4.

Bagnaia said, through the verses Moto.it: “Let’s wait and see, it was good, we did well, the conditions were good today, and the work we did in the test today helped me a little bit.”

“I’m happy with how I felt. I pushed myself to the limit, and that’s really satisfying – it’s fun to understand why and reach the limit. Overall, it was a positive day from the morning, getting better step by step. I’m happy.”

Pecco Bagnaia says his new showpiece was ‘lost’ by a late crash at Le Mans.

Friday was not flawless for Bagnaia though as the 2022 and 2023 champion ended the day with a crash at Turn 6, missing his last chance to improve his lap time for Ducati team-mate Marquez. Bagnaia found the gravel trap as he tried to push harder for a faster lap.

The accident could have big consequences for Bagnaia with Marquez, as they are not sure if the Turin-born Ducati will have another version for the new GP26 show. Bagnaia admitted the crash at the end of practice on Friday “destroyed” his fair competition.

“Things were going well, and that made me feel a little better,” Bagnaya added. “So it’s a positive. I’ve turned it off. I hope we’ll have one for tomorrow. But if it rains, we won’t be using it.”