Bagnaia vs Marquez: pole decided in 0”058 at Le Mans!

Only two made it through as the 2021 world champion was determined to put on a show in front of his home crowd. The Frenchman took the lead after the first moto, with Luca Marini and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) in pursuit.

The riders hit the circuit again for their second bite of the cherry and their last chance to secure a place in Q2 for pole position. Nobody expected Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) to threaten the local hero, but it was the rookie who made the first move in moto two as the Spaniard came out on top with a little over a minute to go.

Quartararo was rolling on the jagged edge at the critical moment, but the Frenchman missed the mark and failed to improve, leaving the Yamaha man like a duck sitting at his home Grand Prix. Luca Marini’s blood melted and the Italian put in a late charge to move into first place with Fernandez close behind to knock out Quartararo and secure a place in Q2.

Qualifying is more crucial than ever in MotoGP™ as riders battle for grid position ahead of the Tissot Sprint and Grand Prix, and with uncertain conditions at the French GP, riders were fully aware of the importance of secure a spot on these top two. Lines.

The red sectors arrived as the runners hit their first attack of the session. It was the man who beat FP Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) who won before the drivers returned to the pits. The Spaniard was closely followed by Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) while Miller and Bagnaia finished 4th and 5th respectively after their first run.

It was the calm before the storm however as the riders all entered the pits for a change of surface as the work had yet to be done in their 2nd moto. It was a drama from the start as the provisional poleman Viñales was stopped at the end of the pit lane due to technical problems on board his Aprilia machine. Moto3™ rider Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was there to push the Spaniard back to the pits before the Aprilia crew brought the bike back to the box in a mad dash to get their wet bike ready for the dry run.

Meanwhile, the battle simmered on the circuit and Aprilia’s misadventure continued as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) put the front into Turn 1 at high speed before the Spaniard had the chance of a 2nd timed attack. On the other side of the garage, the Viñales crew worked miracles to send the Spaniard back to the circuit.

The last minute came and some red sectors came in from Martin, but Marquez was right on his countryman’s tail again using a Ducati rider for a tow. The Spaniard smashed provisional pole time and moved the goalposts to take the lead by 0.221 seconds. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) put in a good lap to try and snatch the top spot from Marquez, but it wasn’t enough as the Aussie narrowly missed out and finished P2.

Just when the paddock thought pole was decided, the world champion then stamped his authority on qualifying as Bagnaia nailed the final sector to snatch top spot from Marquez in the dying seconds of qualifying. Marini also flew over to push Miller off the front row and shore up the P3.

Despite a good lap and some red sectors, Martin only managed P5 as the Spaniard will line up in the middle of the front row after towing Marquez to a front row start. Viñales will feel badly done after technical issues hampered his second roll of the dice. The Spaniard could not improve on his first run and will line up on the edge of the second line in P6.

The third row will be led by Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) as he clinched 7th with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) in 8th, and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) ready to start his GP at home from the edge of the third row in P9. The fourth row will see Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Aleix Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez line up in 10th, 11th and 12th place respectively.