Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamha) was once again the fastest of all in qualifying – the local hero naturally hopes for dry weather on Sunday. Only under these conditions can he probably reach his full potential.

The MotoGP qualifying – sensational surprises abound

Friday at Le Mans was a whole new world in many ways. Many riders like Pol Espargaró, Petrux and the rookies rode their bikes, which were still quite new to them, on a wet track for the first time that morning. Because the conditions had allowed it for a very short time, Jack Miller risked a try with slick tires and for a brief moment it fit. A little later it started to rain again, but the Australian had managed a time before that, which was over 2 seconds below that of third-placed Joan Mir. After that it was dry in the afternoon, and it was the two French who had dictated the pace in FP2. These were also among the main actors on Saturday, but even before that there were big surprises.

Luca Marini on the Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati was one of the two surprise men in the first qualifying. Even if it didn’t work out so well in Q2, his performance on Saturday was simply sensational.

The two sensation men of Q1
Whether you are an expert, a team member or a simple fan, hardly anyone would have guessed Lorenzo Savadori and Luca Marini when it went into Q1. With World Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaró, last year’s winner Petrux and the two Suzuki drivers, there were enough other favourites to make it into the second qualifying. But in the end, the Aprilia pilot and Valentino Rossi’s half-brother Luca prevailed in Q1, to the astonishment of all observers. Aleix and the two Suzuki Aces Mir and Rins were defeated, as were the world championship leader and last year’s winner. Now everyone was excited about the Q2 with surprisingly three Honda’s and Valentino Rossi as again only the fourth-best Yamaha rider.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) was one of the losers on Saturday, only team-mate Miguel Oliveira made it into Q2, but wasn’t able to convince there either. In the end, the South African was second to last.

Tension without limit in the second qualifying
To anticipate, there was never anything to be seen of an alleged handicap of Marc Marquez. On the contrary, it was he who caused the sensation shortly before the end of Q2 together with his teammate Pol Espargaró and Honda brand mate Takaaki Nakagami. Because shortly afterwards rain did not set in for the first time that day, almost all observers thought that the cheese was bitten. But far from it, despite the most difficult conditions, Johann Zarco suddenly turned red according to the time monitor and only missed the best time due to a violent slide shortly before the finish line. Nevertheless, the brave Frenchman managed the fifth-best time in the end, ahead of all Hondas. Just like his Ducati brand colleague Jack Miller, who drove into the front row behind Quartararo and Viñales. With Marquez and Zarco from row two, Franco Morbidelli will start the race on the third-best Yamaha on Sunday. Row three are Nakagami, Pol Espargaró and old master Valentino Rossi, while Oliveira was only tenth.

Johann Zarco in the Pramac Ducati Box – after a near crash, the fastest man on Friday did not make it all the way to the front in Q2 and was therefore “only” the second-best Ducati rider. But points will only be awarded on Sunday and his prospects are good.

In lurking position Suzuki – the big losers again KTM

Despite only being in the fifth row, we learned last year not to write off the two Suzuki drivers too early. Joan Mir and Alex Rins are lying in wait and have to hope for a perfect start. The currently best KTM in the World Championship belongs to Brad Binder, but he was only second to last on Saturday afternoon. From position 10 on the grid, his team-mate Oliveira is still best off, while Petrux and Lecuona have to make do with row 5 together with World Championship leader Bagnaia. An exciting race is guaranteed on Sunday, the list of podium contenders is extremely long and extends to at least row 5 or even 6. Much will depend on the conditions, as far as the weather is concerned and a good start should also be very important. Whether the Ducati starting device will also bring an advantage at Le Mans will only be seen after the start in the first chicane.

The new Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) divides the MotoGP community again – but he is a rider like any other and should be treated that way. Many fans do not understand why they should rate it higher than that of the other drivers regardless of his performance on the track.

Surprise in Moto2 qualifying – Lowes only with P10

It was less surprising that Marcel Schrötter was only fifth from last in Q2 and Tom Lüthi didn’t even make it past Q1. In contrast, Joe Roberts’ row one, together with Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi, was not to be expected. The US boy had to go through Q1 beforehand, and in this case it was possibly even an advantage, as he already knew the difficult conditions. With Sam Lowes in 10th place, the veteran and World Cup favourite could not have been expected. Likewise, his possibly toughest challenger Remy Gardner was expected further up the front, although the Australian with starting position 7 just ahead of the Englishman got off lightly. Much in the middle class as well as in MotoGP will depend on a good start. For Jack Dixon, the 9th row on the grid is almost a disaster, so it will be extremely difficult to get into the points on Sunday. But the English will try, and maybe English weather will help in France.

Raul Fernandez (Red Bull Ajo Kalex) – the Spaniard will start from pole position on Sunday morning. This means that the current World Cup runner-up has an excellent starting position for the race, although as a rookie he should still have a lot of driving experience in the rain.

The first sensation of the day – the World Cup leader stuck in Q1

In Moto3, a good start or even a pole position is of little value in contrast to the larger classes. Nevertheless, in Le Mans, due to the lack of long straights, it is the turn of the first round of the World Championship, in which a driver has a good chance of being able to drive away from the front. With Pedro Acosta, a 16-year-old rookie in Moto3 caused the first sensation of the day. The world championship leader surprisingly got stuck in the first qualifying after showing an effort the day before in the difficult conditions on the Circuit Bugatti. Starting row 7 is not a good starting position for him, even if this means the least in Moto3. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see whether he will make it to the front in the course of the race. Just like Darryn Binder, who, together with Dennis Foggia and Jeremy Alcoba, will only start one row ahead of the young Spaniard.

Polesetter Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda) – the Italian is apparently getting stronger after the first race of the season at Losail turned into a disaster for him. With two fourths and one third place, he is third in the World Championship.

The starting grid for all categories for Sunday at a glance

Championship stand in all classes before the 5th round at Le Mans

Iker Lecuona was subsequently given a 3-second penalty for bringing down Alex Marquez in the Spanish Grand Prix. Not only do we have little understanding for such subsequent changes, because the Spaniard could also have been punished for the next race, as the results had been made public for a long time. We’ll take it into account in the next table, Lecuona only has one point and Luca Marini inherited his.

Le Mans Grand Prix schedule

There were changes for the warm-up, but we won’t list them here. We have slowly fed up with the constant rescheduling of FIM and Dorna (see calendar and tests). Therefore, please check the early risers among our readers on the MGP page, because it can change again later.

Unless otherwise mentioned, applies to all images (© MotoGP).