Fabio Quartararo tells Marc Marquez the MotoGP rider he cannot ‘underestimate’ despite setting new Le Mans lap record

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Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo set the pace in Friday’s crucial practice session at the 2025 French Grand Prix, but the Yamaha racer cannot ‘underestimate’ a rival rider.

Le Mans saw a mixture of manufacturers find their feet early on this weekend with KTM and Aprilia riders joining pilots from Ducati and Yamaha in the top 10 positions. Honda even also almost got a rider straight into Q2, as Luca Marini in 11th missed out by only 0.053 seconds.

Marquez produced a new all-time lap record for Le Mans to top the practice timesheet with a 1:29.855 on his Ducati GP25. The 32-year-old was the only rider to dip below 1:30 through the 60-minute session, with Quartararo sitting in second with a 1:30.032 on his Yamaha M1.

Fabio Quartararo thinks Francesco Bagnaia cannot be ‘underestimated’ to win the French GP

Yet despite Marquez’s record-breaking pace, Quartararo feels Francesco Bagnaia must also be considered a contender to win the French GP. The Ducati ace finished third in practice on Friday after lapping Le Mans only 0.007s slower than the home hero managed with Yamaha.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

The Italian’s pace in practice even came amid rumours that only Marquez has Ducati’s new chassis at Le Mans, with Bagnaia running the previous iteration. The MotoGP championship leader Alex Marquez is using last year’s GP24 and is unsure if or when he will have updates.

Quartararo especially will not rule out Bagnaia securing his second win of the 2025 MotoGP season at the French GP on Sunday as the 28-year-old delivers ‘in the end’ during the races. Bagnaia qualified in P5.4 on average over the first five Grands Prix, yet finished them in P2.6.

“I felt really good both on the single lap and on the race pace,” Quartararo said, via quotes by Motosprint. “So, I’m closing this first day really confident, and I think I can have a good weekend in my home.

“I have to stay calm and do a good qualifying. But with the pace I have, it seems like I can keep up with Marquez and Bagnaia, who shouldn’t be underestimated since he’s still a diesel but, in the end, he gets there in front.”

Francesco Bagnaia will be encouraged by his race simulation lap times at Le Mans

Bagnaia will hope that Quartararo is right and that the home hero plus Marquez should not ignore his threat for the victory at the French GP. The Italian has finished every Grand Prix in the top four so far this term, yet trails Alex Marquez of Gresini by 20 points in the standings.

Marc Marquez is also 19 points ahead of his Ducati teammate, and will expect to add to that lead in Saturday’s Sprint Race plus Sunday’s French GP if the six-time champion does have the Borgo Panigale crew’s upgraded chassis while two-time champion Bagnaia still does not.

But practice this Friday will likely encourage Bagnaia that he can take the fight to Marquez in the French GP, even if he lacks any speed for a qualifying lap. That said, Sylvain Guintoli feels Quartararo has an edge, as Ducati riders struggled to activate the hard front tyre at Le Mans.

Bagnaia still managed to set average lap times of 1:31.880, 1:31.356 and 1:31.081 in his first three practice runs. Marquez, meanwhile, averaged race lap times of 1:31.731, 1:31.121 and 1:31.488 over his first three and Quartararo set 1:31.287 and 1:31.304 over two longer runs.