Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) produced the goods on fresh rubber to top the MotoGP FP1 timesheets at the Michelin® Grand Prix of France thanks to a 1:30.857. Completing the opening top three of the weekend under beautiful blue skies in Le Mans - how long will we be able to say that for? - were Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and 2025 French GP winner Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) – one of two home crowd favourites this weekend.
The top three were split by 0.252s, with Zarco making it two Hondas in the top three. A promising start for the Japanese manufacturer. But it was arguably Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) who impressed the most after the Italian ended the session in P4, 0.268s away from Marini, without pitting from new Michelin tyres. The Italian, who sits P3 in the championship, led for the majority of FP1 before the flurry of times at the close of play.
Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) completed the top five, with Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) enjoying a more fruitful session in P6. Spanish GP winner Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) was P7, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) took away P9 from Friday morning, while World Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) ended FP1 in P14, one place ahead of nearest title rival and teammate Jorge Martin. Work to do for the factory Aprilia duo? Or simply a session of getting dialled in before turning up the wick in Practice? We’ll find out in a few hours.
The crucial, hour-long Practice in Le Mans is coming up at 15:00 local time – tune in!