Forced by a small fall during the third free practice session to go through Q1, Johann completed an impeccable run on soft tires without stopping at his stand. In Q2, he qualified magnificently on the front row alongside Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi.
The spectators gave Johann a triumph when he qualified in Q1, then there was delirium in the stands when he set the third time in Q2. He had to fight hard against Cal Crutchlow and Marc Marquez, but he finally managed to get ahead of the two Honda riders.
All the lights are therefore green for Zarco, from whom we can expect a superb French Grand Prix.
For Johann, “ The result is fantastic and I'm delighted to qualify on the front row for my home race, although I didn't expect that. Before qualifying I was a little nervous because of my crash in the morning, but I had a good pace in FP4 which gave me back my confidence.
“Then in Q1 I managed to improve my time and finished in Q2 which was great. After that, in Q2, I only had one rear tire that I could use, so I waited a bit, but I looked at the pace of my opponents and that encouraged me because I knew I could do a good work.
“In the end, both sessions were very good for me and now I appreciate this moment because the fans were superb and they want a podium but so do I.
“Being fast this afternoon gave me confidence, plus the bike was perfect today and the team did a good job. In the race I intend to stay with the best, but you need to be calm to be fast here at Le Mans, so I need to control my emotions and be strong at the start. Then I'm going to fight and hopefully get a podium and if I achieve that it will be really great. »
Qualification results:
1. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 31.994s
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 32.100s +0.106s
3. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 32.229s +0.235s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 32.300s +0.306s
5. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 32.493s +0.499s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 32.726s +0.732s
7. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 33.119s +1.125s
8. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 33.399s +1.405s
9. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 33.517s +1.523s
10. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 33.629s +1.635s
11. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 33.756s +1.762s
12. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 33.955s +1.961s
13. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 32.415s
14. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 32.484s
15. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 32.695s
16. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 32.830s
17. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 32.844s
18. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 33.187s
19. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 33.231s
20. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 33.233s
21. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1m 33.817s
22. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 33.875s
23. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 34.082s
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 62 points
2 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 60
3 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 58
4 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 52
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 41
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 35
7 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 29
8 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 29
9 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 28
10 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 26
11 Scott REDDING-Ducati 26
12 Jack MILLER-Honda 21
13 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 17
14 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 14
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 12
16 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 12
17 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 9
18 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 9
19 Tito RABAT-Honda 8
20 Alex RINS-Suzuki 7
21 Bradley SMITH-KTM 3
22 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 2
23 Sam LOWES-Aprilia 0
Photo © Tech 3
