MotoGP France Le Mans FP3 LIVE: Zarco sets new Bugatti record, Quartararo 3rd

MotoGP resumed its rights this Saturday morning with the holding of FP3. A crucial session in view of the qualifications, which will take place at the beginning of the afternoon, with the allocation of the first ten places for participation in Q2.

The first day of competition at Le Mans delivered all its promises, on a Bugatti circuit bathed in sunshine, which is a decided change compared to the last two editions of the French GP, which took place largely in the rain!

As expected, the Ducati have so far been the most dominant in the Sarthe, with the absolute best time signed yesterday by Enea Bastianini on behalf of the Gresini team. The Italian was remembered fondly by everyone after some difficult last rounds, and we will certainly have to count on him in the fight for victory this weekend.

We will also have to keep an eye on Aleix Espargaro, second in the combined times yesterday, the Aprilia rider who once again confirmed that his Aprilia is proving to be a formidable machine on all types of circuits this season.

Alex Rins, third on Friday evening, does not seem in the least disturbed by the announcement a little less than two weeks ago of Suzuki's withdrawal from the championship at the end of this year. On the contrary, number 42 seems determined to redouble his efforts in view of a transfer window in which he probably did not expect to be one of the main players.

What about the French? They did the job yesterday, without taking the front row. Johann Zarco took the fourth fastest time, while Fabio Quartararo got the sixth, the two French drivers being separated by Pecco Bagnaia. Two promising results for our Frenchies, who also showed an interesting pace in preparation for the race.

MotoGP™ Le Mans	2021	2022
FP1	1'38.007 Jack Miller (See here)	1'31.771 Pol Espargaro
FP2	1'31.747 Johann Zarco (See here)	1'31.148 Enea Bastianini
FP3	1'40.736 Marc Marquez (See here)	1'30.537 Johann Zarco
FP4	1'32.857 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Q1	1'42.550 Lorenzo Savadori (See here)
Q2	1'32.600 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Warm Up	1'44.515 Danilo Petrucci (See here)
Course	Jack Miller, Johann Zarco, Fabio Quartararo (See here)
All time lap record	1'31.185 Johann Zarco (2018)

We will remind here that despite the omnipresence of the sun on Friday (which should persist throughout this Saturday before disappearing... in the time slot dedicated to the race tomorrow!), many drivers made mistakes yesterday, trapped by grip conditions that were nevertheless precarious. Miguel Oliveira and Enea Bastianini went to the ground twice, while Jack Miller fell once and also went off-track, just like Zarco, who went out at high speed in the first turn during FP2. !

But with all the driving done yesterday, the Bugatti track has smoothed out considerably and should offer the competitors optimal grip. Enough to guarantee a frantic chase against the clock and exciting qualifications this afternoon!

But before that, we will have to go through these FP3s. We remind you of the challenge: to be one of the ten fastest drivers in order to qualify directly for the second part of qualifying. The others will have to participate in a repechage session, Q1, in order to try to secure one of the last two tickets giving access to the hunt for pole position.

It was therefore in very spring conditions that these FP3s opened, with 16°C in the air and 17°C on the track. Franco Morbidelli is the first to leave the pit lane. The Italian-Brazilian must find the key to unlocking his potential this weekend, after a first day marked by two falls and a 12th place in combined times.

All the drivers are equipped with the soft tire, both at the front and at the rear, except Brad Binder who is currently using the medium at the front.

During this session, we will focus on notifying you of the changes in ranking in terms of combined times, the latter directly influencing the progress of the qualifying session this afternoon.

Jorge Martin is currently the last qualifier for Q2, in tenth provisional position, while Jack Miller has not yet made the cut to 11th place. The two men are competing for the second handlebar within the official Ducati team next year (in the same way as Bastianini). The stakes therefore go far beyond simple qualifying for this French GP!

Thanks to his time achieved yesterday in 1'31.148, Bastianini has neither more nor less than signed a new track record on the Bugatti (the previous reference was to the credit of Johann Zarco, author of a 1'31.185 in 2018 ). It is very likely that this record will fall again today given the ideal driving conditions prevailing this Saturday at Le Mans.

Marc Marquez, distant 15th yesterday, is trying to move up the hierarchy, with more or less success: the Repsol Honda driver is now in 13th position, insufficient to reach Q2. The Spaniard stood out yesterday with two catches of his RC213V, of which he has the secret.

The number 93's teammate, Pol Espargaro, made a mistake entering turn 7, losing the front. The Spaniard is in the hot seat at Honda and threatened by the potential arrival of Joan Mir, released by Suzuki at the end of the season for the reason we know.

For the moment, Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Martin are leading the session, but are not progressing in the combined times. The two opponents currently remain in sixth and tenth positions respectively.

Pecco Bagnaia alone driver on track with the medium at the rear. The latest winner, two weeks ago in Jerez, is still fifth, but could well have a very good pace allowing him to use stiffer tires on his GP22.

Takaaki Nakagami on the attack! The Japanese is trying to improve his times, which currently place him in 11th position. But the LCR driver is carried away in his momentum at the exit of the very last turn and bites the green part on the outside of the track. Consequence: tour canceled, but Nippon does it again.

While the majority of competitors are observing each other and regaining their bearings on the track for the moment, chronometric improvements should not be long in coming.

Bastianini stopped! The Transalpin must dismount in the clearing located inside the chicane (left-right, turns 9 and 10) of the Garage Vert. He will have to return to his pit as quickly as possible with less than a quarter of an hour remaining in these FP3s.

That's it, here are the first significant improvements: Quartararo climbs to first place, with a new track record of 1'30.847, while Marc Marquez finally enters the top 10, with the third fastest time. The Repsol Honda driver took the wheel of the Frenchman, at the cost of a big scare at the exit of turn 10.

Miller is also doing well, in provisional fifth position.

Miller is still progressing, the Australian is now in second position, less than two tenths behind Quartararo. Also a good comeback from Joan Mir, fourth.

Marco Bezzecchi tenth! The Italian rejects his compatriot Bagnaia outside the top 10.

Quartararo comes out of the pits… again followed by Marc Marquez.

Bagnaia is back in fifth position, Rins is now threatened in tenth position! The fight intensifies on the track!

Bagnaia persists and signs: the Ducati rider takes first place with a time of 1'30.568, three tenths better than Quartararo's best time, which is already being forgotten. Will the Frenchman succeed in responding, still marked in the pants by Marquez?

Zarco, discreet until now, has finally come out of his box and is in fourth position.

Quartararo comes close to the Bagnaia mark, and only fails by 114 thousandths! Marquez behind him secures third place in the combined times.

Boom! Zarco rushes to the finish line and takes the best time in 1'30.537, and recovers the track record. The French are therefore first and third at the end of these FP3!

French GP – MotoGP Combined times at the end of FP3:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com