Francesco Bagnaia left it late in the French MotoGP qualifying to claim his first pole position of the 2026 season.
Bagnaia claimed pole position for the first time since the 2025 Malaysian Grand Prix after setting a 1:29.634s lap time at Le Mans.
The Italian left it until his final flying lap to secure top spot, jumping from seventh to pole after a superb final sector.
Marc Marquez progressed from Q1 with a new all-time lap record, but was unable to repeat that pace in Q2 as he settled for second place.
The Spaniard briefly held provisional pole before his Ducati teammate snatched it away in the closing moments of the session.
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi completed the front row after qualifying third on the factory Aprilia.
Fabio di Giannantonio will lead the second row in fourth place, alongside Pedro Acosta in fifth.
Home hero Fabio Quartararo successfully progressed through Q1 and will start his home Grand Prix from sixth on the grid.
Joan Mir was the leading Honda rider in seventh, with Jorge Martin qualifying alongside him in eighth.
Ai Ogura secured ninth for Trackhouse, while Alex Marquez could manage only 10th after crashing during Q2.
Frenchman Johann Zarco has work to do from 11th on the grid, with Alex Rins completing the Q2 places in 12th place.
Raul Fernandez missed out on a place in Q2 as he qualified 13th, just ahead of Enea Bastianini in 14th after the KTM rider crashed in the early stages of Q1.
Luca Marini secured 15th on the grid for Honda, while Franco Morbidelli completed the fifth row in 16th.
On his first race weekend at Le Mans, Toprak Razgatlioglu put his Pramac Yamaha 17th on the grid, alongside fellow rookie Diogo Moreira in 18th.
Jack Miller finished 19th to lead the seventh row, with Gresini rider Fermin Aldeguer alongside him in 20th.
Brad Binder qualified 21st, while replacement rider Jonas Folger rounded out the grid in 22nd.
Discussion about this post