09:34
Marc Marquez is having a quiet session. He's down in 12th at the moment. FP2 is not usually a gauge of much, but this is concerning with Q1 coming up soon and little guarantee that Marquez can make it out of the session.
Marc Marquez, Ducati Corse, 2026 French MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
LIVE
MotoGP France LIVE: Pecco Bagnaia beats Marc Marquez to pole
Live coverage of qualifying and the sprint for the 2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Pecco Bagnaia takes first pole of 2026
- Marc Marquez fastest in Q1 with lap record
- Fabio Quartararo goes into Q2
The 2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix continues on Saturday 9 May with qualifying and the sprint from Le Mans, with home hero Johann Zarco hoping to delight the crowd once again.
The LCR Honda rider made history in 2025 with his win in wet conditions at Le Mans, and has faced numerous questions about repeating this coming into the weekend amid grim forecasts for Sunday.
But Johann Zarco showed he and his Honda have pace in the dry, too, on Friday, after he topped Practice by just 0.010s from VR46 Ducati's Fabio Di Giannantonio.
In what was a tight Practice, Honda looked solid over one lap as well as race pace, while Ducati continued its strong form from the Spanish Grand Prix, with Di Giannantonio leading Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez.
Marc Marquez was the big casualty of the top 10 shootout on Friday afternoon, as the reigning world champion failed to make it directly into Q2. Though the Ducati has made a step since the Jerez test, the seven-time world champion appears to still be struggling to get the most out of his bike.
Aprilia had a mixed day at Le Mans on Friday, but Marco Bezzecchi was fast over long-run pace, while both he and team-mate Jorge Martin made it directly into Q2.
KTM's Pedro Acosta was second at the end of Friday's running, as he comes into Saturday at Le Mans looking for his second sprint win of the season.
2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix: Saturday schedule
FP2 - 9:10am BST-9:40am BST
Q1 - 9:50am BST-10:05am BST
Q2 - 10:15am BST-10:30am BST
Sprint - 2pm BST
09 May 2026
09:36
Crash - Johann Zarco
Johann Zarco has crashed at the penultimate corner. He's up and ok, but not ideal prep for qualifying.
09:32
Just under 10 minutes to go in FP2 and Quartararo is still fastest with a 1m30.580s.
He wasn't happy with his feeling on the M1 on time attack on Friday. But team-mate Alex Rins showed there is one-lap speed in that Yamaha at Le Mans.
09:20
After 10 minutes of FP2, Fabio Quartararo - last year's polesitter - is delighting the home fans with the best time of the session so far.
He's top with a 1m30.619s.
09:17
Ducati aero changes
Di Giannantonio has reverted to the older aero spec he'd been using previously. Bagnaia has one of each spec on both of his bikes as he evaluates.
Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez are sticking with what they ran yesterday.
09:16
Air temp is up at 18C this morning, with the track at 14C.
09:11
FP2 begins
Pitlane is open for the 30-minute FP2 session.
This session has no bearing on the Q2 and Q1 groups, but it's still an important half an hour of running ahead of the serious stuff later today.
09:08
2026 French MotoGP - Friday practice analysis
Marc Marquez's Q2 exit on Friday was paired with concerning race pace in Practice on Friday, as his Ducati stablemates look poised to fight for victory alongside Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi.
Read our analysis from Friday ⬇️
Practice pace shows Q2 miss the least of Marc Marquez’s worries at French MotoGP
Marc Marquez, 2026 French MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
09:04
If you missed any of Friday's action, catch up below with our report. LCR Honda's Johann Zarco - the home favourite - led the way as reigning world champion Marc Marquez dropped into Q1.
Johann Zarco fastest in France MotoGP Practice, Marc Marquez in Q1
Johann Zarco, 2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix, pit box. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
09:02
Despite the threats in the forecast, Saturday is starting off in lovely weather.
09:01
Qualifying build-up
Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the 2026 MotoGP French Grand Prix.
It's Saturday. We have qualifying coming up in about 50 minutes. Up first, FP2.