13:40
Yamaha had a solid morning at Le Mans. Let's see if that continues this afternoon.
Johann Zarco, LCR Honda, 2026 French MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
MotoGP France LIVE: Friday practice reaction at Le Mans
Live text coverage of Friday practice at the 2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Johann Zarco tops Practice, Marc Marquez in Q1
- Ducati brings new aero, but Marquez on '25-spec
- Luca Marini tops FP1
The fifth round of the 2026 MotoGP season takes place at the French Grand Prix and the iconic Le Mans Bugatti circuit.
Famous for its 24-hour endurance race, Le Mans welcomes back MotoGP to its Bugatti circuit, for an event that has seen record attendance in recent years.
Aprilia and Marco Bezzecchi come to the French Grand Prix leading the championship, after the Italian was second at the recent Spanish Grand Prix.
Bezzecchi has good memories from Le Mans, having won at the circuit in 2023 when he was with VR46 Ducati.
He leads the championship by 11 points from team-mate Jorge Martin, who is also a previous winner at Le Mans.
Ducati will be hoping for bigger things in France, after winning the Spanish Grand Prix with Alex Marquez. A good test on the Monday at Jerez has the Italian marque confident of being more competitive.
Marc Marquez will hope that rings true, after a crash at the Spanish Grand Prix further complicated his championship defence.
French fans will have their eyes fixed on the skies again, in the hopes that rain could open the door for another victory for Johann Zarco, following his triumph last year.
Maverick Vinales remains out for Tech3's home race, with Jonas Folger making a surprise return to action in his place.
2026 French MotoGP: Friday schedule
FP1: 9:45am BST - 10:30am BST
Practice: 2pm BSt-3pm BST
08 May 2026
13:42
Zarco's practice start deemed “unsafe”
Johann Zarco punished for ‘unsafe’ practice start
Johann Zarco, 2026 French MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
13:23
Conditions are still very nice at Le Mans for the hour-long Practice this afternoon.
Unfortunately, what we see may not be relevant come Sunday due to the weather.
13:19
MotoGP France: Practice
Good afternoon and welcome back to our live coverage of the 2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix.
Practice is about 40 minutes away.
12:13
KTM can't risk having both MotoGP test riders injured...
Pedro Acosta: Dani Pedrosa “focused” on 2027 KTM MotoGP project
Dani Pedrosa, KTM.
© Gold and Goose
10:46
Luca Marini leads French MotoGP FP1 on updated Honda
Luca Marini was fastest in first practice for the 2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix
Luca Marini leads French MotoGP FP1 on updated Honda
Luca Marini, Honda Factory Racing, 2026 French MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
10:37
Le Mans MotoGP: FP1 Results
2026 French MotoGP, Le Mans - Friday Practice Results
Luca Marini, 2026 French MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
10:31
Luca Marini holds onto top spot from Pedro Acosta and Johann Zarco.
Full results to follow...
10:30
Chequered flag
Chequered flag is out.
10:25
Marini improves again to a 1m30.857s.
10:25
Honda has some new aero, which is clearly working out will for Marini right now.
10:24
Luca Marini goes top with a 1m31.120s on a new medium rear.
10:21
Just under 10 minutes to go. Di Giannantonio's 1m31.302s remains the benchmark.
Acosta is out there on a fresh medium rear for a time attack.
10:15
Enea Bastianini has gone up to second on the Tech3 KTM. Though under new ownership, Tech3 is still very much a French team.
10:14
Johann Zarco looked like he was having an issue on his LCR Honda, but nothing obviously wrong with it. He's back into the pits for a debrief.
10:09
And as I type that, Luca Marini has gone up to second on the Honda.
Good morning so for HRC, with Mir in third.
10:08
Quiet session, so far. No change at the top with just over 20 minutes to go. Everyone seems to be sticking with the one medium rear tyre for now.
10:06
Jonas Folger's first MotoGP appearance in three years has begun with him down in 21st at the moment ahead of Pramac's Toprak Razgatlioglu.
10:02
MotoGP pitlane entry rules clamped down after Marc Marquez Jerez incident
The big news coming out of Le Mans this morning is a clampdown on cutting into pitlane like Marc Marquez did at Jerez a few weeks ago!
Read more on that below ⬇️
MotoGP pitlane entry rules clamped down after Marc Marquez Jerez incident
Marc Marquez, Ducati Corse, 2026 Jerez MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
10:00
Standings after 15 minutes:
- Di Giannantonio
- Mir
- Bagnaia
- Marc Marquez
- Zarco
- Acosta
- Moreira
- Marini
- Alex Marquez
- Aldeguer
09:54
Martin lost a foot wing from the rear of his RS-GP coming through Turn 10.
09:53
Di Giannantonio is now fastest again with a 1m31.568s.
09:53
Something looks to have fallen off Jorge Martin's bike.
09:52
Acosta improves to a 1m31.830s.
09:51
Fabio Quartararo has switched to the aero package he used last year.