Quartararo pips Marquez brothers to pole at MotoGP
LE MANS: Home rider Fabio Quartararo secured his second successive pole by smashing the Le Mans lap record in qualifying on Saturday at the French MotoGP. The 26-year-old former world champion snatched top spot right at the end of the session from Marc Marquez with a lap of 1min 29.34sec on his factory Yamaha, ensuring he will start from the front in Saturday's sprint and the main race on Sunday.
Alex Marquez, who is one point clear of his older brother at the top of the championship standings after winning in Spain last month, qualified in third place. Following an unexpected second-place finish last time out in Jerez, Quartararo continued his revival with a blistering final lap to upstage Ducati's Marc Marquez, the pole-sitter at the first four races of the season. 'It's remarkable to be on pole here at Le Mans in front of all the French fans,' said Quartararo. 'The aim was to be on the front row but I never expected to be on pole and set such a time. I don't know if it's the best pole position of my career, but with so many fans, it's really special.
'Now we're going to get out in front and try to do a good race.' It was Quartararo's 18th career pole. His pole two weeks ago at the Spanish Grand Prix was his first since 2022. The new lap record came just 24 hours after Marc Marquez had broken the previous mark set last year by reigning world champion Jorge Martin, who remains sidelined after a brutal crash in Qatar on his return from injury.
'Fabio is riding in an incredible way, he deserved this pole position in front of his fans,' said Marc Marquez. 'He's doing an amazing job, already in Jerez he was super fast.' 'I didn't make any mistakes. I did a clean lap, but he was just quicker than me,' the Spaniard added. Spanish rookie Fermin Aldeguer, Alex Marquez's Ducati-Gresini team-mate, claimed fourth ahead of Maverick Vinales with Italian two-time former world champion Francesco Bagnaia completing the second row. – AFP
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