Italian Francesco Bagnaia grabbed the first starting position for the French Grand Prix in the World Motorcycle Championship, after a decisive late performance in the qualifying trials held at the Le Mans Circuit today, Saturday, ahead of his Spanish Ducati teammate Marc Marquez.
Bagnaia recorded the fastest time in the second round, reaching 1 minute and 29.634 seconds, seizing the lead in the last moments and depriving Marquez of pole position, despite the strong performance presented by the Spaniard during the qualifying sessions.
Marquez had previously topped the trials after setting a new track record with a time of 1 minute and 29.288 seconds, but he was forced to compete in the first round of qualifying after failing to qualify directly, before he came back strong and temporarily took the lead.
But Bagnaia’s late decision turned the tide, giving the Ducati team the first starting position for the first time this season, as the team sought to make up for the disappointment in the last Spanish race.
Italian Marco Betsicki, riding an Aprilia bike, finished third, joining the Ducati duo on the first row, while Fabio Di Giannantonio came fourth, followed by Pedro Acosta, then Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who completed the second starting row.
