Johann Zarco, the Pramac Ducati rider, performed strongly in the morning warm-up for the French MotoGP at Le Mans. Despite starting ninth on the grid and finishing sixth place during the previous race, Zarco showed a promising pace during the warm-up session.
Read More : FHO BMW Racing Team pulls out from North West
Brad Binder (KTM), who is currently second in the title chase behind Bagnaia, came in second in the warm-up, followed by Luca Marini (VR46) and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia). Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) completed the top six.
Miller
Jack Miller, who fell from the lead group during the previous race, finished seventh in the warm-up session after switching to the soft tyre.
Martin qualified in eighth place, ahead of pole qualifier and title leader Francesco Bagnaia, who rides a Ducati. Marc Marquez qualified twelfth on a Kalex-Honda but was within 0.62 seconds of Johann Zarco, who appears to have qualified in a higher position.
Two riders, Augusto Fernandez and Joan Mir, suffered falls during qualifying. Fernandez, who rides for Tech3 and is a rookie, had his best qualifying result yet with a 12th-place finish. Meanwhile, Mir, who rides for Repsol Honda, struggled in the qualifying rounds.
Marquez is cleared
Marc Marquez is cleared to return to MotoGP this weekend after missing several races due to his thumb injury. It will be interesting to see how he performs after such a long break from racing.
It’s also good to hear that the MotoGP Court of Appeal has overturned the penalty that Marquez received for causing the incident with Miguel Oliveira in Portimao. This means he will not have to serve the double Long lap penalty.
Danilo Petrucci also returns to MotoGP action this weekend, replacing the injured Enea Bastianini. Petrucci has had a varied career, competing in Dakar and MotoAmerica before his one-off ride for Suzuki at Buriram last season. He competes in World Superbike and will be riding for the same factory Ducati team he won in the wet at Le Mans in 2020.
Read More : Yamaha files patents for new motorcycles
Injuries
Enea Bastianini broke his shoulder in a crash caused by Luca Marini in Portimao and tried to return to Jerez but withdrew due to the pain. Miguel Oliveira is missing after suffering a left shoulder dislocation and fracture in a crash caused by Fabio Quartararo in Jerez.
Oliveira had previously missed the Argentina race due to hip injuries from a crash involving Marc Marquez at Portimao. Lorenzo Savadori is replacing him at RNF. Oliveira’s teammate Raul Fernandez had arm pump surgery following Jerez and tried to ride in Practice 1 but withdrew for the rest of the weekend after just three laps.
Pol Espargaro of GASGAS Tech3 is still absent due to multiple injuries from a crash in Portimao and is being replaced by KTM test rider Jonas Folger.
Warm Results, Le Mans, French GP
| POS | RIDER | NAT | TEAM | TIME/DIFF | LAP | MAX |
| 1 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | 1’31.888s | 7/7 | 313k |
| 2 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.065s | 7/7 | 311k |
| 3 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.139s | 7/7 | 318k |
| 4 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) | +0.165s | 7/7 | 311k |
| 5 | Alex Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP22) | +0.182s | 7/7 | 313k |
| 6 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.251s | 6/7 | 311k |
| 7 | Jack Miller | AUS | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.354s | 5/7 | 313k |
| 8 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP23) | +0.371s | 5/7 | 320k |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP23) | +0.446s | 6/6 | 316k |
| 10 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP22) | +0.518s | 5/7 | 309k |
| 11 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.548s | 7/7 | 311k |
| 12 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.619s | 6/6 | 305k |
| 13 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.660s | 6/6 | 311k |
| 14 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.687s | 4/6 | 306k |
| 15 | Alex Rins | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.781s | 4/7 | 314k |
| 16 | Joan Mir | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.524s | 4/4 | 307k |
| 17 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP23) | +1.530s | 6/6 | 310k |
| 18 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) | +1.593s | 5/5 | 310k |
| 19 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) | +1.806s | 4/6 | 302k |
| 20 | Jonas Folger | GER | Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) | +2.607s | 6/6 | 305k |
| 21 | Augusto Fernandez | SPA | Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* | No Time | 0/0 | 0k |
Source : MotoGP
