Le Mans opened with a statement in FP1 as Marc Marquez lit up the timing screens and ended the session with a clear 0.576s margin at the top.
The Ducati rider not only topped the timesheets but did so with a visibly updated chassis – a first run for the new spec on French soil – and looked in control from the off.
The session began at 10:55 local time with a 22-man grid, including the return of Miguel Oliveira and wildcard appearance from Honda tester Takaaki Nakagami.
Raul Fernandez was the first faller just five minutes in, sliding out at Turn 10 – a crash that seemed to dent the confidence he’d started rebuilding in Jerez.
A disaster start to the weekend for @25RaulFernandez 😔#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/6HBUVulAyl
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 9, 2025
Marco Bezzecchi initially set the early pace, but it didn’t take long for Marc Marquez to assert himself.
The #93 hit the top and never looked back, improving multiple times throughout the session.
At one point, the Marquez brothers were running 1-2, with Alex briefly holding top spot before Marc reclaimed it with a 1:30.764 – comfortably the fastest of the session.
Binder was the closest challenger on the KTM, his 1:31.340 good enough for second, while Alex Marquez slotted into third, just ahead of Francesco Bagnaia.
The factory Ducati rider ended up fourth, a few tenths off his teammate after showing strong early pace.
There were standout moments elsewhere too. Rookie Ai Ogura continued to impress, jumping to fifth late in the session and finishing as top satellite rider ahead of home hero Fabio Quartararo, who ended up sixth.
Zarco, on the LCR Honda, also gave the French crowd something to cheer about by placing eighth, just behind Franco Morbidelli, who had earlier crashed at Turn 8.
Morbidelli was quickly back on the bike and still managed a strong seventh-place time.
A small tip off for @FrankyMorbido12 at Turn 8 💥#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/6bMy70Xir7
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 9, 2025
Alex Rins, on the other hand, was less fortunate. He went down at Turn 2 and was seen hobbling away – his session effectively over. He ended the morning in 17th.
KTM’s decision to follow Maverick Viñales’ setup path – both factory bikes adopting his RC16 spec – seems to have paid off for Binder.
Viñales himself rounded out the top ten for Tech3, just ahead of Pedro Acosta.
Further down the order, Joan Mir briefly sparked interest with a jump into the top five but faded to 14th by session’s end.
Jack Miller and Fabio Di Giannantonio were tightly matched in P12 and P13, with Luca Marini and Bezzecchi following behind.
Enea Bastianini had a quiet session in 18th, while Nakagami ended 19th in his wildcard return. Fernandez’s early fall left him last on the charts, more than two seconds off the pace.
All eyes were on the new Yamaha engine spec (not a V4!) this morning, now available to all four riders after a promising test in Jerez.
A dominant start for Marc Marquez, a bruising session for several others, and a clear signal that Ducati’s new, slightly revised chassis might just be the ace in hand for the French GP weekend.
