Quartararo snatches pole in rollercoaster Le Mans qualifying

Yamaha factory rider Fabio Quartararo scored a somewhat surprising MotoGP pole at Le Mans in a wet-dry qualifying session that provided twists and turns aplenty.

Intermittent rain that impacted the morning’s running continued into the afternoon at Le Mans, and though the track was virtually dry coming into the final minutes of pre-qualifying practice a brief rain shower came through and soaked at least some parts of the track, rendering slicks non-viable for the whole first segment.

But when it came to Q2, despite a seriously damp final sector, a number of riders went out on slicks right away – and those who had stuck with wets soon returned to the pits to make a change.

Predictably, mixed-weather master Jack Miller took a convincing early lead, but with five minutes left on the clock he’d been leapfrogged by the factory Honda of Pol Espargaro.

But while Espargaro then eased off, Marc Marquez produced a 1m33.037s that looked set to hand him pole position and lead a Honda 1-2-3 – with LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami having slotted in between the works pair.

Yet there was still one more twist in the tale, and despite spots of rain cropping up on the track, as many as five riders improved after the chequered flag to leapfrog Marquez – led by home hero Quartararo.

Team-mate Maverick Vinales was 0.081s behind the Frenchman, while Miller completed the top three, only narrowly denying Yamaha a 1-2-3 that would’ve been completed by Petronas rider Franco Morbidelli.

Johann Zarco completed the top five, two tenths clear of Marquez, who led his Honda stablemates in that same order in sixth, seventh and eighth.

Espargaro, however, did have a late shot at pole, only to crash on his final attempt at Turn 7. He and Marquez had also crashed in the final moments of FP4.

Valentino Rossi was among the riders opting for slicks right away, but was unable to capitalise, having nearly highsided on a damp patch in the final sector. His session never recovered from there and he settled for ninth place, as the final rider within a second of pole.

KTM’s Miguel Oliveira crashed during the session but was still 10th, ahead of the shock Q1-topping duo of Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) and Luca Marini (VR46 Ducati).

Q1 had been a frantic affair throughout, and all the riders that had looked favourites to advance were left behind by the pair of Italian rookies.

Savadori’s first segment was particularly remarkable, the Italian having fallen early on in Q1 at the final corner and having had to run through the pitlane to fetch his second bike.

A golden opportunity missed for @lorysava32? 💢

Fortunately he doesn't have far to go after crashing at the last corner! 🏃‍♂️#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/H7rjdH07vS

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 15, 2021

The session was most painful for Savadori’s team-mate Aleix Espargaro, who went to first place seconds before the chequered flag but then looked to have prematurely rolled out of a final lap that should’ve been quicker still. He missed out by 0.066s as a result.

The pair of Suzukis of Joan Mir and Alex Rins were quickest out of the blocks in Q1 but didn’t find pace at the same rate as their rivals as the track dried, and had to settle for rounding out the top 15 – albeit still ahead of Ducati’s championship leader Francesco Bagnaia, who towed Marini on the final lap.

Tech3 KTM’s wet-weather specialists Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona were only 17th and 18th respectively, albeit both ahead of struggling works rider Brad Binder, who was only ahead of Avintia rookie Enea Bastianini.

Slotting in between the Tech3s and Binder were Alex Marquez and Tito Rabat, both left to rue late crashes in Q1.

Qualifying Results