Bagnaia Takes Le Mans Pole in Motogp Final-Lap Beat of Marc Marquez

Francesco Bagnaia took pole position for Le Mans in motogp qualifying with a final flying lap that edged Marc Marquez. The Ducati Lenovo rider earned his first pole of the 2026 campaign and his first since Sepang last year.

Bagnaia And Marc Marquez At Le Mans

Bagnaia’s lap landed after Marquez had already set a new lap record in Q1 and moved into pole-position contention. Marc Marquez ended qualifying second, giving Ducati Lenovo Team a 1-2 and its first qualifying 1-2 since Brno last year.

Marco Bezzecchi completed the front row. That trio gives the Le Mans Sprint and Grand Prix an immediate front-line order that was decided late in the session, with Bagnaia’s last run doing the damage after Marquez had raised the benchmark earlier.

Q1 Pressure At Le Mans

Q1 still mattered for riders who had to fight through it, and Marquez was not the only one to make the jump. Fabio Quartararo also moved through Q1 into Q2 at Le Mans, keeping a home rider in the fight for the sharp end of the grid.

Alex Marquez’s session went the other way. He crashed at Turn 3 during the second runs in Q2, which left him tenth on the grid after a session that had already been compressed by the pace at the front.

Le Mans Grid Set

Pedro Acosta finished fifth after a trip through the Turn 2 gravel, with Quartararo sixth and Joan Mir seventh as the best Honda rider. Jorge Martin started eighth as the 2024 World Champion and French GP winner, followed by Ai Ogura in ninth, Alex Marquez in tenth, Johann Zarco in eleventh and Alex Rins in twelfth.

For Bagnaia, the pole puts him at the front for both races at Le Mans, with Marquez beside him and Bezzecchi completing the opening row. The front of the grid now belongs to the three riders who set the pace when it mattered most, and Ducati leaves qualifying with the sharpest one-two finish of the day.