MotoGP riders reflect on action packed opening day at Le Mans

MotoGP 2023

Round Five – Le Mans

Friday Practice

MotoGP Friday Quotes from Le Mans

Jack Miller – P1

“Hopefully we can translate that into a good Saturday and an even better Sunday. The bike has worked fantastic from the get-go this morning, first roll out… It is a strange old track Le Mans, you kind of can’t push to the absolute limit like you maybe can at some other tracks, the grip especially is kind of low, at some points, then in other points it’s fantastic, so you sort of have to take it corner by corner, and ride a little bit different in each corner. Was sort of hoping for some rain today as we have some work to do on the wet map.”

Aleix Espargaro – P2

“The bike is really working well, especially with the soft front tyre. It is obviously only Friday, but it’s always important to be fast and I’m satisfied. We are using some new aerodynamic features that help me in acceleration and on turn 1, where you really go in fast and the bike tends to move around a lot. Tomorrow we’ll set our sights on pole position, but we know how difficult it always is here in Le Mans.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P3

“The first two rows are always our target and hitting the Q2 actually simplifies things a lot. The race already takes on a different perspective. I feel good and I was able to be incisive right from the start even if I took everything very calmly, especially this morning, to be able to understand the sensations on the front tire with this type of temperature. I certainly have some margin in braking, I can improve in some points, but I’m quite happy. I have a good pace and also on the time attack I did well.”

Maverick Vinales – P6

“Today was a very good day. We took a lot of things that we tried in the tests out on the track, collecting a good amount of data and the fact that they worked, even on a very different circuit, is extremely positive. Now we have data to increase our potential and to try to push harder tomorrow. I feel strong and I think that we have margin for improvement for Saturday. Today going through to Q2 was important and we did just that, so now we’ll wait to see what the weather will be like, but in any case, we are ready to do a good job.”

Brad Binder – P7

“Great feeling on day one in Le Mans. Felt good from the first exit, landed myself a spot in Q2 this afternoon and feeling excited about tomorrow’s sessions. Let’s do this this!”

Marc Marquez – P8

“Today I am very happy overall; it was a good day. I crashed two times; the second time was an ‘acceptable’ crash because I was pushing at the limit on a hot lap – it can happen. After a month and a half at home, it’s not easy to go out and straight away start pushing so we have to be content with what we have done today as we made it to Q2. The objective for tomorrow is to maintain this position in the front three rows of the grid. Of course, the weather could change things here a lot, but we will keep working and adapting to whatever happens. I still need to work a bit to keep improving my feeling and also to improve the performance overall.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P9

“My pace was one of the best this morning, and I immediately felt comfortable. We tried the time attack,  but I didn’t find a good feeling with the rear tyre. We also used the same tyre at the beginning of the afternoon session and had some difficulties. Fortunately, by changing the tyre for the last time attack, everything went back to normal, and we realised what the problem had been. Overall, it was still a positive day. We are in the top ten, and the feeling with the bike is also good. We still have to improve a little bit, but I would say we are there.”

Alex Marquez – P10

“I’m very happy with how we reacted to the crash, which was quite a tough one. We stayed calm on a track where I’m not always quick and we managed to get into Q2, which was the most important thing after all. There’s a lot to work on and the crash surely impacted on the weekend programme we had for the bike. A thank you goes to the team because they worked incredibly well. The crash was my fault, the feeling with the medium compound at the front-end wasn’t the best but I chose to keep pushing and lost the front.”

Luca Marini – P11

“The position really complicates things, tomorrow it will be difficult to go through the Q1 and we expect an uphill weekend. I didn’t find grip at the rear with the lap time tire and this forced me out of the Top10 for a breath. It won’t be easy, even the weather could complicate things further, but we know where to work to be able to be more competitive. Having no feeling at the rear, with the first touch of the gas I have no traction and the bike doesn’t turn as I want. We continue to work for tomorrow.”’

Fabio Quartararo – P12

“We are trying to find a base, and we are doing our best to make a step tomorrow. I‘m always giving my 100 per cent on the bike, all the time. I‘m doing my best, trying to find a solution, and working hard. We miss performance. We‘re trying to improve the feeling. The fans are the most positive part of today. I will give my 100 per cent to make them happy.”

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Joan Mir – P13

“We tried a new chassis today in the morning and I was able to improve my feeling, riding more comfortably but we still need to adapt the setting and myself to take the maximum from it. Everything in the morning was very easy, then in the afternoon it was a little more complicated and we need to analyse tonight what changed from practice to practice. We will keep working tomorrow in a similar way, looking for those last few tenths to fight for Q2.”

Alex Rins – P14

“Today has been a bit hard. We are struggling in the two last sectors of the track; we’ve got the same problems that we had in Jerez. We need to keep working, and although we tried hard, we couldn’t go straight to Q2. Tomorrow we’ll have another chance, so let’s keep pushing”.

Augusto Fernandez – P15

“It was a good day for us. I adapted pretty well and quickly to the track this morning in Practice 1, and I was in the top 10 for most of the session. Pace and confidence are good, but we are still missing a few things to do a good time attack to stay within the top 10. Overall, we are happy with today’s work, we got good information and we will try to take another step on Saturday and aim for the Q2.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P16

“The problem we face here is different than in Jerez: it’s difficult to stop the bike, and we are missing some rear grip. These two elements in this track have been very demanding today. I wanted to be in the top 10, but it has been difficult to obtain that result”.

Franco Morbidelli – P17

“It was a complicated day. We tried some solutions to improve the package, but unfortunately nothing helped. We have to go back to a base that we know tomorrow, a more standard package, and see if we can extract some more potential.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P18

“It was a complicated Friday; we worked a lot even though the morning crash has limited us a little bit. We started from the base setup found in Jerez, which we were happy with, and we’re trying to see if it can work here, too. Right now we’re losing a lot of ground in T3 and T4 and tomorrow it’ll be important to work well in FP3 in order to play our cards right in qualifying.”

Danilo Petrucci – P19

“It was a challenging day but mostly exciting. I expected to struggle more, but it went well, and I am satisfied. This morning I was less distant from the top of the time-sheet, and I think I could still have improved if it hadn’t been for the crash this afternoon, which made me lose some confidence. Riding this bike is fantastic! Now my goal will be to continue to improve without making any more mistakes.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P20

“It was a good day, we tried something new for Aprilia especially in Practice one. Of course, when you are in a race weekend it’s not simple, as everyone is super fast and it’s almost one year since I last did a race weekend, which was in Austria last year. Tomorrow, we will start another day and will work more on my feeling and position on the bike. I have to focus more on my feeling on the 2022 bike as it’s a little bit different from the 2023 bike, but we will see how it goes tomorrow and with the unpredictable weather forecast. Above all, I am happy to work with the RNF team as they are a great team.”

Jonas Folger – P21

“The track here in Le Mans is quite demanding physically so the start of the day was a bit difficult for me. It took me time to find my flow, especially in Practice 1. I was a bit lost with my riding style so we have to check the data to try coming back to the setting from the test in Jerez. We have a few changes to make tonight to get the bike more ‘quiet’  and that should help me improve my riding, ride faster and get closer to the other guys. Thank you to my team for their work, and I look forward to tomorrow.”

Raul Fernandez – P22

“To be honest, my arm is fine but I can’t ride. I tried this morning and did three laps, immediately I knew that I wasn’t ready to ride a MotoGP bike. My condition improved a lot but I couldn’t ride fast. Now, MotoGP is too close and if you are not at 100 per cent it is difficult. I feel much better with the arm but I can’t take the corners, I spoke to my team and it will be a risk for me if I crash and have more injuries, they understand the situation and we decided to stop and not continue this weekend. Now I will work to recover for the next Grand Prix.”

MotoGP Friday Practice Report

Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) topped both P1 and P2 on Friday at Le Mans to sail through to an automatic place in Q2.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) ended the day in second and third, respectively.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was already back in the limelight and on the pace. The Spanish dynamo is straight through to Q2 but not before crashing twice, and having a little tête-à-tête with Pecco Bagnaia after shadowing the World Champion in a game of cat and mouse…

As ever, the fight for a place in Q2 went to the wire, and it had to be all or nothing for Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who was well aware of the importance of bagging a Q2 spot at his home Grand Prix. The Frenchman began to put on the afterburners in the final twenty minutes. Riding on the ragged edge, Quartararo’s first flyer ended early with a big moment onboard his Yamaha, seeing him make a dramatic save to regroup and put the hammer down once again.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the first to reshuffle the order as the South African hit the top of the time-sheets to beat his team-mates P1 time to make it a KTM one-two. Miller then leap-frogged the South African to again head the charts. But then came Bezzecchi to grab P1…

Meanwhile, Aleix Espargaro was on a flyer as the Spaniard set red sectors to slot himself into P2, and with two and half minutes remaining the timing screens really began to light up.

Espargaro, Bezzecchi, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) was the order with just one minute left, and the fans were on their feet as their home hero Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) began to put down red sectors as he chased down the flying Miller.

Miller wasn’t to be caught though, going top to set the first and only 1m30s, but Zarco put himself into P5 to push Aleix Espargaro and Bezzecchi down a spot each… and push Bagnaia out of Q2 as it stood.

With Espargaro and Bezzecchi holding strong in 2nd and 3rd, Martin consolidated P4 just ahead of his team-mate, as Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales then bagged P6 ahead of Binder in P7. The South African crashed in the latter stages.

It was, in some ways, a familiar sight for Bagnaia as he looked behind with 11 minutes to go to see Marc Marquez right on his rear wheel. The Repsol Honda rider was looking to use the reigning World Champion to tow him into a Q2 position, but Bagnaia wasn’t giving into the mind games as the Italian rode back into pit-lane to shake off the Spaniard.

That left Pecco with a final push and as Bagnaia headed back out onto the circuit, it was a last-chance saloon scenario for the Ducati man as he was sat outside of Q2 contention in P12. A swarm of riders followed him with just six-minutes left on the clock, but this time Marquez slotted himself behind Martin, who in turn was shadowing Bagnaia. That did the trick.

Bagnaia just bagged a Q2 spot to put himself into P9, whilst Marc Marquez then had different dramas to worry about. He took a second tumble of the day, rider perfectly ok if looking encouragingly angry at the error, but makes it into Q2 on his return to competition.

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) just made it into the top ten, leaving some fellow fast faces in Q1. Quartararo is the headline act, certainly for the home fans, as the Frenchman looks to find a way through. After deciding to go back to the same chassis as raced in Jerez and those fast lap woes continuing, he’ll have to fight it out against the likes of Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), COTA winner Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team). Mir had a solid morning in France and then suffered an adventurous afternoon session with a crash and a run off.

Both KTMs are through. Bagnaia seems a little more on the back foot than some venues. Marc Marquez is through, although after two tip offs. Quartararo is looking to move forward… Friday set us up for another super Saturday of MotoGP action. The stage is dressed for Qualifying and the Tissot Sprint…

MotoGP Friday Practice Results

MotoGP Top Speeds

MotoGP Championship Points

Moto2 Friday Practice

The podium finishers from Jerez kept their roll on Friday in France, with Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) back on top to end Day 1 fastest, followed by Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Alonso Lopez (Lightech SpeedUp). The three were covered by just 0.093 and Acosta was only 0.005 off the top.

Lowes crashed twice in P1 but gathered it together in the afternoon to take back to the top, and the double crasher moniker went the way of fellow frontrunner Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40). Riders ok. Canet, however, didn’t improve in P2 and ended Day 1 in 13th.

Behind the top three back up near the top, Filip Salač (QJMotor Gresini Moto2) takes P4 overall after going fastest in the morning, with Celestino Vietti (Fantic Racing) next up after a solid day from the Italian as he looks to get back to winning ways. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) takes P6, with Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), who starts the weekend equal on points with Acosta at the top of the title table, in seventh.

Sokmiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Manuel Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 MasterCamp) complete the top ten on Day 1, edging out Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) by just 0.005.

Senna Agius got familiar with the Le Mans circuit for the first time in his call up to replace Darryn Binder and finished day one 26th, 1.829-seconds off Lowes’ Friday benchmark.

Moto2 Friday Practice Results

Moto2 Championship Points

Moto3 Friday Practice

Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) ends Day 1 at the Shark Grand Prix de France on top, just over a tenth clear of fellow veteran Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) after the Japanese rider was also fastest in P1. Masia had been nine tenths off the Husqvarna rider before hitting back in the afternoon.

Xavier Artigas (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) was third overall, ahead of veteran Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3).

One rider having a tougher day of it was COTA and Jerez winner Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team). He crashed in both sessions, and had ended P1 in 18th, but moved up to seventh overall on a good recovery mission, just behind rookie Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo).

Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) was eighth after having been second in the morning, and was the only rider in the top 20 to not improve his time in P2, with Joel Kelso (CFMoto PrüstelGP) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) locking out the top 10.

Moto3 Friday Practice Results

Moto3 Championship Points

MotoE Qualifying

Day 1 of the 2023 FIM Enel MotoE World Championship kicked off with an immediate arrivederci to the old lap record, with P1 seeing it fall by over 1.2 seconds as Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) started the weekend in style.

In P2 the field went even quicker with Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE) topping the time-sheets, and the Italian nearly, nearly bettered it again in qualifying despite some drops of rain. He takes the first pole of the new era and the first with Ducati, joined on the front row by Garzo and two-time Cup winner Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) – and the three were covered by just 0.025!

After a dry Q1 gave way to ominous skies, the Q2 runners piled out of pitlane in a rush to set a lap and the red sectors lit up the timing screens. But Ferrari kept his advantage from practice to just hold on to pole by 0.022, despite a more adventurous end to the session with a tip off at Turn 3. No harm done, no one could quite better it regardless.

Garzo did leapfrog Torres, however, with Randy Krummenacher (Dynavolt Intact MotoE) slotting into fourth to head the second row on his MotoE debut. Kevin Manfredi (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) and rookie Nicolas Spinelli (HP Pons Los40) complete that Row 2, demoting former Le Mans winner Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) to seventh.

Tune in for the first super Saturday of the new MotoE era tomorrow, with both races book-ending the new Tissot Sprint.

MotoE Qualifying Q2 Results

MotoE Qualifying Q1 Results

2023 Le Mans MotoGP Weekend Schedule
Times in AEST

2023 MotoGP Calendar