09:51
Pedro Acosta has now gone top with a 1m32.413s.
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
09:49
Ducati has so far not put any new aero parts on the bike. However, it has a new chassis on the GP26 and GP25.
09:49
Fabio Di Giannantonio sets the early pace with a 1m33.575s.
09:46
Penalty - Franco Morbidelli
Franco Morbidelli is sitting out the first five minutes of FP1, due to riding in an irresponsible way at Jerez.
09:45
MotoGP France: FP1 begins
Pitlane is open for FP1.
09:45
Fabio di Giannantonio 2027 update
di Giannantonio: Factory MotoGP support essential for title chance
Fabio di Giannantonio, VR46 Ducati.
© Gold and Goose
09:40
Ahead of this weekend, Aprilia and Marco Bezzecchi lead the world championship after finishing second at Jerez.
Bezzecchi is a former winner at Le Mans, so he'll start favourite.
09:35
The Dunlop chicane is usually the most crashed-at corner of the entire calendar. It's already been catching riders out in the other sessions this morning.
09:30
Pitlane opens in 15 minutes for FP1.
If this is your first MotoGP weekend, then here's how things work.
FP1 runs for 45 minutes and is a free practice session. The times in this session do not count towards any other part of the weekend.
Practice runs for an hour this afternoon, with the top 10 at the end of this session gaining direct entry to Q2 qualifying on Saturday. The rest will go through Q1, with the top two in that session moving to Q2.
09:26
Away from Le Mans, Liberty Media has set social media ablaze with comments that it is eyeing a potential MotoGP race in Miami.
What do you think?
Amid rumours of a MotoGP race in Miami, Liberty calls it “a logical spot”
2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix
© XPB Images
09:13
Ducati updates
Keep an eye out on the factory Ducatis today. Marc Marquez has teased some updates are likely to be seen on his bike.
Marc Marquez ‘can’t think about MotoGP title’, teases Ducati Le Mans upgrades
Marc Marquez, 2026 Jerez MotoGP test.
© MotoGP
09:06
Injury update
Maverick Vinales will once again be absent from this weekend's MotoGP action, following surgery on his shoulder after the US Grand Prix.
He will be replaced by Jonas Folger, who is making his first start in three years.
Read more ⬇️
Jonas Folger faces “big challenge” replacing Maverick Vinales in MotoGP
Jonas Folger (pic: KTM).
09:03
The weather at Le Mans today is lovely, but there is rain in the air as the weekend goes on.
So, just a typical Le Mans weekend then!
09:01
2026 French MotoGP begins
Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the 2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix.
FP1 begins in 45 minutes' time.