Practice report
MotoGP French GP
French MotoGP: Zarco sets new lap record in FP3, Mir misses Q2 cut
Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco smashed the Le Mans lap record to top FP3 for the MotoGP French Grand Prix as Suzuki’s Joan Mir missed the Q2 qualifying cut.
Lewis Duncan
Edited: May 14, 2022, 9:18 AM
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Perfect conditions to start Saturday’s action at Le Mans meant lap time improvements on the combined order started to come in early, though there were no major movers.
Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin was the first significant name to make an improvement to 10th on the combined order in the early stages of the 45-minute session, with Marc Marquez going to 12th briefly on the Honda after a tough Friday for the six-time world champion.
LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami did make a major jump up to fourth with around 20 minutes remaining, but his 1m31.471s was cancelled for exceeding track limits, dropping him back to 15th.
A few minutes later, home hero Fabio Quartararo moved to second on his Yamaha with a 1m31.214s, while Marquez – who shadowed the reigning world champion – jumped up to fourth.
On his next tour, Quartararo smashed the lap record which had already been beaten by Enea Bastianini on Friday with a 1m30.847s.
Moving 0.198s clear of the field, with Ducati’s Jack Miller his nearest rival, Quartararo’s lap did come under pressure with just over two minutes to go from the sister factory Ducati of Bagnaia.
The Italian followed that lap through to go top with a 1m30.568s, as Marquez exited pitlane behind Quartararo for their final runs.
Marquez, who felt simply getting into the top 10 in FP3 would be a good result, managed to improve to a 1m30.948s to go third behind Quartararo – who did not better his previous time.
On his final lap, Quartararo looked to cement second with a 1m30.682s as Marquez found a bit more time in fourth with a 1m30.785s to safely get into Q2.
But it was France’s other hero Zarco who lit up the timing screens on his last effort on his Pramac Ducati to snatch top spot with a 1m30.537s.
This dislodged Bangaia, who remained second at the chequered flag ahead of Quartararo and Marquez, with Miller fifth.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro made a late improvement to sixth to bag his place in Q2, with Nakagami eighth.
Alex Rins sneaked into the top 10 at the death with a 1m31.087s in eighth, though Suzuki teammate Mir failed to follow him into the direct Q2 places down in 13th.
Pol Espargaro held onto a place in Q2 in ninth on his Honda despite a crash at Turn 6 earlier in the session, with Friday pacesetter Bastianini 10th by virtue of his FP2 effort after his session was interrupted by a late mechanical issue on his Gresini Ducati.
Martin was denied a place in Q2 by 0.003s, with Rins’ late improvement also proving detrimental to Maverick Vinales’ hopes on the second Aprilia in 12th.
KTM’s miserable Le Mans weekend continued on Saturday morning as Brad Binder emerged as the top RC16 in 15th, 0.816s off the pace, with teammate Miguel Oliveira only managing 18th.
Qualifying for the 2022 MotoGP French GP gets underway at 2:10pm later today.
MotoGP French GP FP3 results
Cla Rider Bike Time Gap 1 Johann Zarco
Ducati 1'30.537 2 Francesco Bagnaia
Ducati 1'30.568 0.031 3 Fabio Quartararo
Yamaha 1'30.682 0.145 4 Marc Marquez
Honda 1'30.785 0.248 5 Jack Miller
Ducati 1'30.837 0.300 6 Aleix Espargaro
Aprilia 1'30.986 0.449 7 Takaaki Nakagami
Honda 1'31.062 0.525 8 Alex Rins
Suzuki 1'31.087 0.550 9 Pol Espargaro
Honda 1'31.102 0.565 10 Jorge Martin
Ducati 1'31.151 0.614 11 Maverick Viñales
Aprilia 1'31.169 0.632 12 Joan Mir
Suzuki 1'31.228 0.691 13 Luca Marini
Ducati 1'31.228 0.691 14 Brad Binder
KTM 1'31.353 0.816 15 Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati 1'31.403 0.866 16 Enea Bastianini
Ducati 1'31.539 1.002 17 Fabio Di Giannantonio
Ducati 1'31.593 1.056 18 Miguel Oliveira
KTM 1'31.699 1.162 19 Franco Morbidelli
Yamaha 1'31.716 1.179 20 Andrea Dovizioso
Yamaha 1'31.847 1.310 21 Remy Gardner
KTM 1'31.887 1.350 22 Alex Marquez
Honda 1'32.002 1.465 23 Raúl Fernández
KTM 1'33.083 2.546 24 Darryn Binder
Yamaha 1'33.241 2.704 View full results
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