Jorge Lorenzo will start tomorrow’s French MotoGP race from pole position. He is the first rider to ever lap Le Mans under 1:32, setting a best time of 1:31.975. Though the Movistar Yamaha rider has won at the circuit five times in the MotoGP class, this is his first pole at the Bugatti track.
Although Honda have struggled this weekend, Marc Marquez set a second placed time of 1:32.416 on his Repsol-liveried machine. Andrea Iannone, who had held second position until late in the session, had to sprint to his second Ducati machine after a water pump problem caused him to crash before his second run. He was unable to better his time, though, and will start from third.
Pol Espargaro continues to have a good weekend by qualifying in fourth, just 0.033 away from a front row start. He is closely followed by Andrea Dovizioso with a time of 1:32.587 in fifth on his Ducati. Bradley Smith’s fortunes seem to have improved with a sixth-best time of 1:32.820.
Valentino Rossi heads the third row of the grid in seventh. He won’t be happy being 0.845 off of his teammate. Maverick Vinales starts from eighth on his Suzuki, followed by Cal Crutchlow on his LCR Honda in ninth.
Despite only being his first race this year, Danilo Petrucci returns from a pre-season testing injury to start from tenth on his Pramac Ducati, having earned his way through from Q1. Dani Pedrosa tipped off at the chicane mid-session and after returning to the pits for his second bike was unable to improve his time. He will start in 11th, followed by Aleix Espargaro in 12th who had set the fastest time in Q1.
The rest of the grid is completed by Hector Barbera (13th), Scott Redding (14th), Yonny Hernandez (15th), Eugene Laverty (16th), Stefan Bradl (17th), Jack Miller 18th, Alvaro Bautista (19th), Tito Rabat (20th), with Loris Baz having a torrid time at his home round starting the race from the back of the grid.
The MotoGP race is due to start tomorrow at 1300 BST.
