Fabio Quartararo thrilled the French crowd with a sensational last-lap pole position at Le Mans, narrowly beating Marc Marquez in a dramatic qualifying session for the 2025 French MotoGP.
Just as he did in Jerez, the Monster Yamaha rider got the better of Marquez, this time at his home round, producing a final-lap stunner to take pole by 0.118s.
Marquez looked untouchable after smashing the lap record on his first run, with Quartararo initially trailing by 0.361s and Alex Marquez slotting into third, 0.657s off the pace.
The closing stages brought drama as Fermin Aldeguer briefly jumped to second before crashing at the Dunlop chicane. His fall triggered yellow flags that disrupted hot laps from both Marc Marquez and Quartararo.
Despite the setback, Quartararo regrouped and delivered under pressure, firing in a blistering time to edge Marquez and claim pole in front of his home fans.
Alex Marquez improved late to reclaim the Gresini lead, finishing third, just 0.129s behind his brother.
Johann Zarco and Raul Fernandez advanced through Q1 in a session that was red-flagged early to recover Ai Ogura’s fallen Aprilia. Zarco’s hopes for a strong home showing ended with a crash at Turn 8 during Q2.
Other key updates include Pedro Acosta and Somkiat Chantra recovering from recent arm pump surgery—Acosta is racing, while Chantra is still sidelined. Miguel Oliveira returns after a shoulder injury, and Lorenzo Savadori continues to fill in for the injured Jorge Martin.
Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami also returns as a wildcard after retiring from full-time racing last year.
Ducati, which equalled Honda’s all-time record of 22 consecutive GP wins, will aim to make history with a 23rd straight victory on Sunday—weather permitting, as rain is in the forecast.
The 13-lap Sprint race begins at 3 PM local time.
