Bagnaia Takes Le Mans Pole for Ducati

MotoGP, Sportrik Media - Francesco Bagnaia secured pole position for the 2026 French MotoGP at Le Mans after leading Q2 ahead of team-mate Marc Marquez and championship leader Marco Bezzecchi.

The Ducati Lenovo Team rider delivered a 1m29.634s lap to claim his first pole position of the season and halt Aprilia’s recent momentum.

Bagnaia executed his final Q2 run perfectly while several rivals focused heavily on slipstream strategy. Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio were seen waiting for towing opportunities, but Bagnaia maximised a clean lap and immediately jumped to the top of the timing screens.

Baca JugaBagnaia Pole Le Mans, Marquez Pecahkan Rekor

From a technical perspective, Ducati showed a significant improvement in braking stability and fast-direction changes at Le Mans. After repeatedly complaining about a nervous bike under braking earlier this season, Bagnaia finally appeared more comfortable with the revised aerodynamic balance and front-end consistency.

Marquez eventually settled for second place after struggling earlier in practice. The reigning world champion still appeared to lack full one-lap consistency despite Ducati’s latest GP26 developments showing progress compared to Jerez.

Meanwhile, Bezzecchi once again emerged as Aprilia’s main threat after securing third on the grid. The Aprilia Racing rider continues to maintain strong momentum in the 2026 title fight.

Pedro Acosta was KTM’s leading rider in fifth, while home favourite Fabio Quartararo completed the second row after progressing through Q1 alongside Marquez.

Quartararo had earlier surprised the paddock by topping final practice with Yamaha’s updated V4 package. However, Yamaha still appeared unable to consistently challenge Ducati and Aprilia over a full qualifying session.

Jorge Martin placed the second factory Aprilia in eighth, while Alex Marquez could only manage tenth after crashing during Q2.

Rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu endured another difficult weekend after qualifying only 17th for Pramac Racing. Meanwhile, Jonas Folger — replacing Maverick Vinales — qualified 22nd.

Pos	Rider	Team	Bike
1	Francesco Bagnaia	Ducati Lenovo	GP26
2	Marc Marquez	Ducati Lenovo	GP26
3	Marco Bezzecchi	Aprilia Racing	RS-GP26
4	Fabio Di Giannantonio	VR46 Ducati	GP26
5	Pedro Acosta	Red Bull KTM	RC16
6	Fabio Quartararo	Monster Yamaha	YZR-M1

The 2026 French MotoGP Sprint Race will take place later on Saturday with rain still forecast to potentially play a major role at Le Mans, similar to last season’s dramatic race weekend.