Gresini Ducati rider Enea Bastianini recorded the new MotoGP lap record at the Le Mans Bugatti circuit en route to topping the second practice session of the French Grand Prix weekend.
Key moments:
> Bastianini breaks lap record, then shunts
> Three Ducatis in the top five
> Miller and Mir also among those crashing
Having just had a table-topping 1m31.523s deleted, Bastianini followed it up with a 1m31.148s moments before the chequered flag flew – surpassing Johann Zarco’s 2018 record by just under four hundredths.
He then immediately crashed at the Dunlop chicane, but his lead came under no threat.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was second, two tenths off Bastianini, while Alex Rins scored third for Suzuki.
Having gotten his entry into Turn 2 wrong, Zarco was sent on a high-speed trip through the gravel that culminated in his Pramac-run Ducati briefly going airborne while crossing the track at the Dunlop chicane. He ultimately avoided crashing and wound up securing fourth place.
Spanish GP winner Francesco Bagnaia and Yamaha’s championship leader Fabio Quartararo completed the top six, ahead of Brad Binder – the lead KTM.
In eighth place, Joan Mir was among the many riders to crash during the session, having dropped his Suzuki on entry to La Musee. VR46 Ducati rookie Marco Bezzecchi and LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez would have similar crashes in the same corner later on.
There were also falls for Luca Marini (VR46 Ducati), Darryn Binder (RNF Yamaha), Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha) and Jack Miller (Ducati).
No Hondas made the top 10, with Pol Esparagro leading the RC213V contingent in 13th, just ahead of Marc Marquez – who tucked the front while trying to follow Bagnaia but stayed on the bike.
Practice 2 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enea Bastianini | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 1m31.148s | ||
| 2 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | +0.202s | +0.202s | 1m31.35s |
| 3 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.095s | +0.297s | 1m31.445s |
| 4 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.063s | +0.36s | 1m31.508s |
| 5 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.127s | +0.487s | 1m31.635s |
| 6 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.005s | +0.492s | 1m31.64s |
| 7 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.017s | +0.509s | 1m31.657s |
| 8 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.009s | +0.518s | 1m31.666s |
| 9 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.246s | +0.764s | 1m31.912s |
| 10 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.002s | +0.766s | 1m31.914s |
| 11 | Franco Morbidelli | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.111s | +0.877s | 1m32.025s |
| 12 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | +0.026s | +0.903s | 1m32.051s |
| 13 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.025s | +0.928s | 1m32.076s |
| 14 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.077s | +1.005s | 1m32.153s |
| 15 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | +0.122s | +1.127s | 1m32.275s |
| 16 | Marco Bezzecchi | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | +0.039s | +1.166s | 1m32.314s |
| 17 | Luca Marini | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | +0.102s | +1.268s | 1m32.416s |
| 18 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.089s | +1.357s | 1m32.505s |
| 19 | Andrea Dovizioso | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | +0.031s | +1.388s | 1m32.536s |
| 20 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.159s | +1.547s | 1m32.695s |
| 21 | Remy Gardner | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.042s | +1.589s | 1m32.737s |
| 22 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.66s | +2.249s | 1m33.397s |
| 23 | Raul Fernandez | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.16s | +2.409s | 1m33.557s |
| 24 | Darryn Binder | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | +0.004s | +2.413s | 1m33.561s |
