Ducati factory rider Marc Marquez dominates practice day in France – local hero Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) second – several crashes in the afternoon
Marc Marquez dominated the practice day for the French Grand Prix. After setting the fastest time in the morning practice, the Ducati rider was also in a league of his own in the afternoon. Marc Marquez was clearly the fastest in race pace and also in the qualifying attempts at the end.
The number 93 set a new lap record for the 4.2-kilometer Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans in the first time attack. This lap in 1:29.855 minutes ultimately meant the best time of the day for Marc Marquez.
The closest challenger in qualifying was local hero Fabio Quartararo, who once again pushed the Yamaha to its absolute limit. The Frenchman was just 0.177 seconds behind Marc Marquez. Quartararo’s race pace also looked promising.
Francesco Bagnaia followed in third place, just under two tenths of a second behind. The top five was completed by the Gresini Ducati duo Fermin Aldeguer and Alex Marquez. The rookie was a tad faster than the championship leader on Friday (see results).
Jack Miller (Pramac) was the second Yamaha rider to make it into the top 10 in sixth place. KTM qualified directly for Q2 with two riders. Pedro Acosta secured seventh place and Maverick Vinales eighth.
In his first qualifying attempt, Vinales crashed in the “Chemin aux Boeufs” chicane. The Spaniard was then able to complete a fast lap on his second bike. In terms of race pace, Vinales was hot on the heels of the Ducati leaders.
Quartararo briefly in P1 but @marcmarquez93 SMASHES the all-time lap record FrenchGP pic. twitter.com/zyI5She1Fs
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) May 9, 2025
The top 10 was completed by the two Italians Franco Morbidelli (VR46-Ducati) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia). This meant that only Honda failed to get a rider directly into Q2. Luca Marini missed out on Q2 by just 0.053 seconds in eleventh place.
Local hero Johann Zarco crashed his LCR Honda in his final qualifying attempt at “Chemin aux Boeufs.” As a result, he dropped out of the top 10 and finished Friday in twelfth place. Joan Mir also crashed in the final corner and finished 14th.
The wrong time to have a crash for both @JohannZarco1 and @bradbinder_33 FrenchGP pic. twitter.com/UKTES51q1m
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) May 9, 2025
Brad Binder (KTM/19th place) and rookie Ai Ogura (Trackhouse-Aprilia/16th place) also crashed. Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati) couldn’t get up to speed. The Italian finished 1.4 seconds behind, well behind the other Ducati riders.
Returnee Miguel Oliveira (Pramac-Yamaha) improved steadily, but his comeback after a two-month injury break was tough. He finished just under two and a half seconds behind.
The next practice session will start at 10:10 a.m. on Saturday, followed by qualifying at 10:50 a.m.
Directly qualified for Q2 are:
01. Marc Marquez (Ducati)
02. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
03. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
04. Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini-Ducati)
05. Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati)
06. Jack Miller (Pramac-Yamaha)
07. Pedro Acosta (KTM)
08. Maverick Vinales (Tech3-KTM)
09. Franco Morbidelli (VR46-Ducati)
10. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia)
