Bagnaia claims pole at Le Mans as Marquez sets circuit record
Bagnaia takes Le Mans pole; Marquez breaks circuit record in qualifying.
Event / Sports
MotoGP 2026 Season
Coverage of the 2026 MotoGP racing season, including qualifying sessions, races, and championship developments across all Grand Prix events.
1 reported locations
Daily activity
0 articles0 articles
2026-08-18 to 2026-11-15 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 9 May, 11:07 UTC
Follow the documented timeline or explore the related reporting.
What happened
Johann Zarco qualifies eleventh after crash during practice session
French rider Johann Zarco qualified in 11th position after suffering a crash during the second free practice session on Saturday morning. Having set the fastest time during Friday's qualifying practice, Zarco lost pace following the incident and failed to replicate his competitive form from the previous day.
Fabio Quartararo qualifies sixth for French MotoGP Grand Prix
French rider Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) qualified in sixth position for Sunday's race. After experiencing difficulties on Friday, Quartararo recovered Saturday morning and progressed through Q2 to secure a second-row starting position with competitive lap times.
Francesco Bagnaia secures pole position at French MotoGP Grand Prix
Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) achieved pole position for the French Grand Prix MotoGP at the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans on Saturday by posting the fastest qualifying time in Q2. The double world champion (2022, 2023) surpassed his Ducati teammate Marc Marquez and championship leader Marco Bezzecchi by 12 and 23 thousandths of a second respectively. This was Bagnaia's 28th pole position in his career and his first since Sepang, Malaysia in the previous year.
Marc Marquez sets new circuit record at Le Mans MotoGP qualifying
Spanish rider Marc Marquez (Ducati) established a new track record during Q1 qualifying with a time of 1'29''288, surpassing the previous record set by Fabio Quartararo in the previous year (1'29'324). This improved lap time secured Marquez's progression to Q2 and eventually second place on the grid.
Read the coverage
2 alternative perspectives