French MotoGP, Le Mans - Free Practice (4) Results

Free Practice (4) results from the French MotoGP at Le Mans, round 7 of the 2022 world championship.

14 May 2022

Fabio Quartararo Marc Marquez , French MotoGP, 14 May

French MotoGP, Le Mans - Free Practice (4) Results
Pos	Rider	Nat	Team	Time/Diff	Lap	Max
1	Fabio Quartararo	FRA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)	1'31.444s	12/15	312k
2	Alex Rins	SPA	Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)	+0.010s	12/16	315k
3	Francesco Bagnaia	ITA	Ducati Lenovo (GP22)	+0.264s	9/13	316k
4	Aleix Espargaro	SPA	Aprilia Racing (RS-GP)	+0.331s	13/13	316k
5	Takaaki Nakagami	JPN	LCR Honda (RC213V)	+0.365s	4/16	314k
6	Jack Miller	AUS	Ducati Lenovo (GP22)	+0.388s	4/13	315k
7	Jorge Martin	SPA	Pramac Ducati (GP22)	+0.437s	7/15	320k
8	Enea Bastianini	ITA	Gresini Ducati (GP21)	+0.455s	14/14	322k
9	Marco Bezzecchi	ITA	Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)*	+0.459s	12/13	317k
10	Miguel Oliveira	POR	Red Bull KTM (RC16)	+0.474s	14/16	312k
11	Maverick Viñales	SPA	Aprilia Racing (RS-GP)	+0.520s	16/17	317k
12	Pol Espargaro	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)	+0.547s	6/14	316k
13	Marc Marquez	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)	+0.582s	4/12	317k
14	Joan Mir	SPA	Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)	+0.617s	7/13	316k
15	Johann Zarco	FRA	Pramac Ducati (GP22)	+0.627s	4/15	317k
16	Brad Binder	RSA	Red Bull KTM (RC16)	+0.629s	12/15	314k
17	Franco Morbidelli	ITA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)	+0.779s	8/13	309k
18	Luca Marini	ITA	Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)	+0.797s	11/14	314k
19	Fabio Di Giannantonio	ITA	Gresini Ducati (GP21)*	+1.008s	4/14	318k
20	Alex Marquez	SPA	LCR Honda (RC213V)	+1.264s	7/16	316k
21	Remy Gardner	AUS	KTM Tech3 (RC16)*	+1.275s	16/17	314k
22	Andrea Dovizioso	ITA	WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)	+1.298s	15/16	309k
23	Raul Fernandez	SPA	KTM Tech3 (RC16)*	+2.135s	11/12	312k
24	Darryn Binder	RSA	WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)*	+2.179s	4/16	315k

* Rookie

Fastest Practice time:
Johann Zarco FRA Ducati 1m 30.547s

Official Le Mans MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Johann Zarco FRA Ducati 1m 30.547s (2022)
Fastest race lap:
Maverick Vinales SPA Yamaha 1m 32.309s (2017)

MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo takes over from fellow home hero Johann Zarco at the top of the timesheets during final practice for the French MotoGP at Le Mans.

Jack Miller (Ducati) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) were both caught out by early front-end falls at Turn 7, with Marc Marquez crashing from his Repsol Honda on the entry to Turn 9 in the closing minutes.

Medium front tyres and soft rears were the preferred choices in preparation for Sunday's race, Suzuki being a notable exception in using the medium rear.

However, all slicks could be redundant tomorrow if the forecast rain materialises.

Qualifying 1, for those outside the top ten after third free practice, including Joan Mir, will now get underway.

Tech3 KTM's Raul Fernandez is returning to action this weekend after being ruled out of the Portimao and Jerez rounds due to a right-hand injury.

Jack Miller won last year’s French Grand Prix, after a flag-to-flag race caused by a heavy rain shower. The Australian was joined on the podium by home heroes Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco.

Quartararo returns to Le Mans holding a 7-point title lead over Aleix Espargaro with Enea Bastianini in third (20 points).

Jerez winner Francesco Bagnaia is 33 points adrift, in fifth.

Le Mans is also the first event since the shock news that Suzuki intends to leave MotoGP at the end of this season.

French MotoGP schedule – UK Time

Friday May 13

8.00-8.40am - Moto3 Free Practice 1

8.55-9.40am - MotoGP Free Practice 1

9.55-10.35am - Moto2 Free Practice 1

12.15-12.55pm - Moto3 Free Practice 2

1.10-1.55pm - MotoGP Free Practice 2

2.10pm-2.50pm - Moto2 Free Practice 2

Saturday May 14

8.00-8.40am - Moto3 Free Practice 3

8.55-9.40am - MotoGP Free Practice 3

9.55am-10.35am - Moto2 Free Practice 3

11.35am-11.50am - Moto3 Qualifying 1

12-12.15pm - Moto3 Qualifying 2

12.30-1pm - MotoGP Free Practice 4

1.10-1.25pm - MotoGP Qualifying 1

1.35-1.50pm - MotoGP Qualifying 2

2.10-2.25pm - Moto2 Qualifying 1

2.35pm-2.50pm - Moto2 Qualifying 2

Sunday May 15

8.00-8.10am - Moto3 warm-up

8.20-8.30am - Moto2 warm-up

8.40-9am - MotoGP warm-up

10am - Moto3 race

11.20am - Moto2 race

1pm - MotoGP race

Jerez: MotoGP World Championship standings
Pos		Rider	Nat	Team	Points	Diff.
1	=	Fabio Quartararo	FRA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)	89
2	^1	Aleix Espargaro	SPA	Aprilia Racing (RS-GP)	82	(-7)
3	^1	Enea Bastianini	ITA	Gresini Ducati (GP21)	69	(-20)
4	˅2	Alex Rins	SPA	Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)	69	(-20)
5	^5	Francesco Bagnaia	ITA	Ducati Lenovo (GP22)	56	(-33)
6	=	Joan Mir	SPA	Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)	56	(-33)
7	˅2	Johann Zarco	FRA	Pramac Ducati (GP22)	51	(-38)
8	˅1	Brad Binder	RSA	Red Bull KTM (RC16)	48	(-41)
9	^2	Marc Marquez	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)	44	(-45)
10	˅2	Miguel Oliveira	POR	Red Bull KTM (RC16)	43	(-46)
11	˅2	Jack Miller	AUS	Ducati Lenovo (GP22)	42	(-47)
12	^1	Pol Espargaro	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)	35	(-54)
13	=	Jorge Martin	SPA	Pramac Ducati (GP22)	28	(-61)
14	=	Maverick Viñales	SPA	Aprilia Racing (RS-GP)	27	(-62)
15	^3	Takaaki Nakagami	JPN	LCR Honda (RC213V)	21	(-68)
16	˅1	Franco Morbidelli	ITA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)	18	(-71)
17	^2	Alex Marquez	SPA	LCR Honda (RC213V)	16	(-73)
18	^1	Marco Bezzecchi	ITA	Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)*	15	(-74)
19	˅3	Luca Marini	ITA	Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)	14	(-75)
20	=	Andrea Dovizioso	ITA	WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)	8	(-81)
21	˅1	Darryn Binder	RSA	WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)*	6	(-83)
22	=	Remy Gardner	AUS	KTM Tech3 (RC16)*	3	(-86)