Pole position went the way of Petronas Yamaha SRT's Fabio Quartararo on Saturday at the SHARK Helmets French Grand Prix after a toe-to-toe tussle for top spot with Pramac Racing's Jack Miller. The ninth chapter of the 2020 MotoGP™ tale looks set to be another belter, so here's 10 things to know ahead of Sunday's main event in Le Mans.
1. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) could become the first French rider to win a premier class French Grand Prix in history.
2. This is Fabio Quartararo’s second pole position at Le Mans in his Grand Prix career after taking pole back in 2015 when he was in the Moto3™ class.
3. This is only the third pole position by a Frenchman in the premier class at Le Mans, along with Johann Zarco in 2018 and Christian Sarron in 1987 (since pole positions were officially recorded in 1974).
4. This is Yamaha’s seventh pole position since the start of the season, the first time Yamaha has had seven pole positions in nine races since 2009 when Yamaha riders also took seven poles in the opening nine races of the year.
5. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) qualified in second in Le Mans and equaled his best qualifying result of the season so far from both the Austrian and Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. He has finished fourth in Le Mans in both 2018 and 2019.
6. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) has qualified in third place (his third successive front row start in Le Mans), which is his first front row start since he was also third on the grid for the Italian Grand Prix last year. He, of course, converted that front row start into his only Grand Prix victory to date.
7. Heading the second row is Cal Crutchlow in fourth place. This is the LCR Castrol Honda rider's best qualifying result since he was third on the grid at the Americas Grand Prix last year.
8. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Maverick Viñales, winner of the MotoGP™ race at Le Mans in 2017, is scheduled to make his 100th start in the premier class on Sunday. The Spaniard has qualified fifth, which is the fourth time this year he has failed to start from the front row.
9. Second last year at the French Grand Prix, Ducati Team's Andrea Dovizioso has qualified in sixth place - his best qualifying result since he claimed fourth on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix, a race he would go on to win.
10. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) has qualified in 14th place. This is the man second in the MotoGP™ World Championship's worst qualifying result in dry-weather conditions since he was 20th on the grid for the Italian Grand Prix last year.