MotoGP Qualifying Results As Francesco Bagnaia Takes French Grand Prix Pole Ahead Of Marc Marquez

Fabio Quatararo The people of Yamaha have given more reason to celebrate with the LCR star Johann Zarko He has emerged as a major contender to win Sunday’s French GP. Zarco drove the crowd wild with his speed in action on Friday, and Quattararo took his M1 out of Q1.

Zarco was unable to transfer his pace in practice into qualifying and will be hoping the rain in the forecast for Sunday’s French GP comes to pass. Instead, Ducati star Francesco Bagnaia He took a flying round out of his bag at the end of qualifying to deny teammate Marquez Paul.

Can Francesco Bagnaia turn his impressive first pole position into a maiden victory at the French Grand Prix in 2026? 🤔

Francesco Bagnaia secures pole position for 2026 French Grand Prix at Le Mans

Fabio D’Giantantonio VR46 continues its strong start to 2026. MotoGP season At the start of Q2, the Italian set the first pace in the second leg to qualify for the French GP. The 27-year-old set the benchmark with a winning time of 1:29.876, but did not stay at the top for long.

Read more: How to watch the weather forecast for the 2026 French Grand Prix and Le Mans

Aprilia Marco Bezecchi He didn’t have a good time in practice but he climbed to the top of the order in Q2 with a 1:29.825. George Martin He also took his Aprilia RS-GP to P3 in qualifying, while Di Giannantonio caught the attention of the MotoGP stewards.

KTM rider Pedro Acosta He had a frustrating start when he ran live on Ra 2 as he tried to get a few early moments. Di Giannantonio hit Acosta early in Q2 when he got up to leave a lap, but the VR46 ace avoided a penalty after a brief check.

Martin and Marc Marquez made full use of their early pace in qualifying for the French GP to lower the benchmark at the start of the second race. As Marquez set another new lap record for Le Mans, Martin rose to P2 before quickly falling back down the order.

Di Giannantonio tried to respond to Marquez’s 1:29.646 but could only get within 0.053s of the Spaniard’s pace before the field finished their next run after Gresini. Alex Marquez Crashed on turn 2. It was smart for Marc Marquez to stay back so that Di Giannantonio didn’t lead.

Instead, Francesco Bagnaia gave Ducati hope for a one-two on the French GP grid, as Marquez put a 1:29.634 on the board. The Spaniard was unable to respond to the Italian’s timing, as it appeared to be a late issue that caused him to drift without much pace.

Di Giannantonio remains a threat to Bagnaia’s pole position as he gets in the second and third sectors. But the VR46 star’s lap crashed in the final sector and he had to settle for fourth, with Aprilia Bezzecchi joining the Ducati rivals on the front row.

Marc Marquez advances from Q1 to 2026 French GP with new Le Mans lap record

Ducati rider Marc Marquez sped off pit lane at the start of Q1, with Honda’s Luca Marini hot on his heels. Marquez did not have a great time in Le Mans practice but the Spaniard was looking to gain some speed as he finally started qualifying for the French GP.

Marquez quickly set the previous benchmark pace with a lap of 1:29.988, but his time on the Q1 timesheet at Le Mans was short. Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez He soon captured the factory Ducati Ace with a 1:29.972 aboard an Aprilia RS-GP, which he himself was beaten shortly afterwards.

Home hero Fabio Quattararo delighted the Le Mans crowd by pulling a rabbit out of the hat to lift the Yamaha M1 to the Q1 time record. Quatararo recorded a shock 1:29.967, a huge gain of 0.502s over his fastest lap time in practice on Friday.

Quatararo continued to go faster during Q1, dropping his benchmark speed to 1:29.719. But Marquez wasn’t done and the Spaniard set a new all-time Le Mans lap record with a time of 1:29.288. Marquez only managed a 1:30.371 lap in practice.

Márquez knew his lap time was something special and returned to the pit lane before the end of the session, leaving Fernández as the other main rival to Quatararo in Q2. Despite his lap, Marquez was still not happy with his bike’s back slide.

KTM Tech3 Racing Ine Bastianini He mounted a late challenge on the top positions in Q1, but was unable to recover from the crash in time to threaten Qatar in second place. Bastianini lost the front end of his KTM RC16 as he entered turn 3 at the start of qualifying.

Full MotoGP French Grand Prix qualifying schedules at Le Mans