MotoGP News: Quartararo nips Marquez for Le Mans pole

Fabio Quartararo sent the French fans into a frenzy with a brilliant home MotoGP pole position at Le Mans on Saturday.

Just as last time at Jerez, the Monster Yamaha star got the better of Marc Marquez, this time on his final lap.

Alex Marquez will start third for Gresini Ducati, while Francesco Bagnaia could only manage sixth on the second factory Ducati.

As at Jerez two weeks ago, Marc Marquez threw down the gauntlet in the first part of Q2. His 1m29.442s lap shattered the new lap record he had set on Friday – and the best initial response was more than three tenths away.

Quartararo was able to better Marquez’s early benchmark with a remarkable pole lap on his 2nd run. The home hero hit the front with his last tour of the session, and Marquez was unable to improve on the one flying lap he had remaining.

Between Aldeguer and Bagnaia on row two will be Maverick Vinales, who continues to lead the KTM attack.

Row three will be made up of three riders who went against the grain and set their times on hard front tires: Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) and Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati).

2025 French MotoGP, Le Mans – Qualifying Results

* Rookie