They say start as you mean to go on and that’s exactly what Repsol Honda’s Pol Espargaro has done in FP1 at the SHARK Grand Prix de France as he recorded a 1:31.771 to end the session on top. The Spaniard had 0.109s to spare over compatriot Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who had previously led the timesheets during an incident-filled morning in Le Mans.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) makes the top three ahead of World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), who was wearing the brilliant Shoulder Cam, rounds out the front five.
On what is surely a difficult weekend for the Suzuki family, 2020 World Champion Joan Mir helped provide some consolation by ensuring both GSX-RRs are in the top six at the start of the weekend, with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) rounding out the top 10.
All the aforementioned riders managed to steer clear of trouble throughout the session, which can’t be said for the KTMs. It was a brutal opening to the French GP for the factory Red Bulls, with Brad Binder downing at Turn 3 and Miguel Oliveira hitting the deck twice, at Turns 6 and 10, while Tech3’s Raul Fernandez also fell at Turn 10.
They weren’t the only riders to feel the tarmac, with Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) crashing at Garage Vert and Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) falling at Turn 11.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) didn’t crash and he couldn’t quite crack the top 10 either, but he did provide us with a memorable save as he picked up his RC213V on the kerb at Turn 8.
It was a superb opening effort from the premier class, and they will have another crack in Le Mans this afternoon at 14:10 CET. Make sure you tune in then.
1. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) – 1:31.771
2. Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) + 0.109
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.122
4. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.141
5. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 0.162
6. Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) + 0.171
7. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.190
8. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.307
9. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 0.341
10. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.357