The French Grand Prix began in favorable weather conditions on Friday morning, with clear sunshine and increasingly mild temperatures. As the stands filled up, the drivers got their bearings during the first free practice sessions of the weekend. And after 45 minutes, Jorge Martin was the fastest in the session.
The Spaniard from Pramac, leader of the World Championship, completed a lap in 1’31”421. He was ahead of Pedro Acosta (GasGas-Tech3, +0”237) and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia, +0”257). Marc Marquez (Gresini) took the lead at the start of the session, but the six-time MotoGP world champion ultimately finished ninth. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) took fifth place, just behind his teammate Enea Bastianini.
The French are far behind. Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) set the 16th time (+0”982), while Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) rode a little further (20th, +1”277). The 2021 world champion confided on Thursday that he would ride at Le Mans with two different motorcycles, one being equipped with a new chassis still in the testing phase.
