MotoGP

Zarco leads French 1-2 in second Le Mans MotoGP practice

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
3 min read

Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco led a French 1-2 in the second MotoGP Friday practice session at Le Mans.

Zarco and Yamaha factory man Fabio Quartararo were the only riders to dip below 1m32s, and were split by 0.095s.

The track had dried completely since the morning, but the dark clouds in the sky provided the anxiety-inducing prospect of rain that could freeze the running order at any time – prompting a busy and fast start to the session.

Home hero Quartararo, fresh off surgery to alleviate the arm pump problem that cost him the win at Jerez, took control of the session early on, soon settling on a 1m32.120s that provided him with a six-tenths lead for much of the running.

Fabio Quartararo Yamaha MotoGP

It was still at six tenths when Quartararo had a crash at Turn 3, and though Pol Espargaro closed to within 0.017s of the Frenchman shortly after Quartararo had returned to the track, the Yamaha man responded by extending his lead once more.

But Quartararo couldn’t get any more laptime out with two subsequent attempts, leaving the door open for Zarco to beat him to the top spot with a 1m31.747s.

Quartararo’s team-mate Maverick Vinales moved up to third at the chequered flag, with Espargaro relegated to fourth, just 0.001s behind.

Franco Morbidelli led Petronas Yamaha’s efforts in fifth, narrowly ahead of the top KTM of Miguel Oliveira and the factory Ducati of Jack Miller – who had a crash at Turn 7.

Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi and Takaaki Nakagami completed the top 10, and may all have booked Q2 spots already should it rain in the morning, as anticipated.

FP3 rain would make for a particularly peculiar Q1 line-up, as it would feature Suzuki’s reigning champion Joan Mir, his team-mate Alex Rins and Ducati’s points leader Francesco Bagnaia – all of whom had crashes during the session.

It would also feature the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro, who fell twice at the Dunlop chicane in the first 20 minutes and could only recover to 14th in the end.

Practice 2 Results

Pos Name Team Bike Gap Next Gap Leader Best Time
1 Johann Zarco Pramac Racing Ducati 1m31.747s
2 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.095s +0.095s 1m31.842s
3 Maverick Viñales Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.294s +0.389s 1m32.136s
4 Pol Espargaró Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.001s +0.39s 1m32.137s
5 Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha +0.142s +0.532s 1m32.279s
6 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.017s +0.549s 1m32.296s
7 Jack Miller Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.065s +0.614s 1m32.361s
8 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.271s +0.885s 1m32.632s
9 Valentino Rossi Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha +0.037s +0.922s 1m32.669s
10 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda +0.042s +0.964s 1m32.711s
11 Alex Rins Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.051s +1.015s 1m32.762s
12 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.038s +1.053s 1m32.8s
13 Joan Mir Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.108s +1.161s 1m32.908s
14 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia +0.038s +1.199s 1m32.946s
15 Iker Lecuona Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.094s +1.293s 1m33.04s
16 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.077s +1.37s 1m33.117s
17 Alex Marquez LCR Honda Castrol Honda +0.087s +1.457s 1m33.204s
18 Tito Rabat Pramac Racing Ducati +0.157s +1.614s 1m33.361s
19 Enea Bastianini Avintia Esponsorama Racing Ducati +0.175s +1.789s 1m33.536s
20 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia +0.449s +2.238s 1m33.985s
21 Luca Marini SKY VR46 Avintia Team Ducati +0.162s +2.4s 1m34.147s
22 Danilo Petrucci Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.373s +2.773s 1m34.52s
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