Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez says he needed to be “smart” to secure pole position due to the mixed nature of the weather conditions at Le Mans.
The factory Honda racer secured pole for the French Grand Prix despite suffering two crashes on Saturday, one during FP4 and another coming in Q2 moments after setting a time which proved to be unbeatable.
Marquez's effort came early in a session in which grip varied due to the location and intensity of the rain showers that doused the region.
“Today it was not only about the speed, it was about the strategy and trying to be smart and trying to work out when the track was in the best condition," said Marquez.
“I could see that already [track conditions were best] on the first and second laps, I pushed harder on my second lap but didn’t finish it, but you need to take the risk sometimes, and luckily we did it [securing pole].”
Looking ahead to Sunday, Marquez commented: “If it’s wet we are there [on pace].
“The most important thing is that in every condition, every practice we were at the front so we should be competitive tomorrow.”
Marquez nonetheless accepted that he will have to take a calmer approach into Sunday's race, in the wake of his pair of crashes on Saturday.
“In qualifying it was one of those crashes where you know you are about to crash," he said.
“You start to brake and see that you will crash, I tried [to save it] but I was braking too late so the rear wheel lifted and then I lost the front.
“Sometimes you need to take the risk, and tomorrow it’s important be a bit safer.”
