Francesco Bagnaia excited after finding his ‘limit’ at French Grand Prix, ‘that’s really satisfying’

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Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia is happy after the first day of practice at the 2026 French Grand Prix, as the two-time MotoGP champion found his “limit” at Le Mans on Friday.

The 2026 season has largely been a tough affair for Bagnaia ahead of this week’s French GP, with the 29-year-old just ninth in the riders’ championship with 34 points after the first four rounds. Bagnaia trails Aprilia’s early championship leader Marco Bezzecchi by 67 points, too.

Bagnaia only finished two of the first four Grands Prix this season, as well, with a best result of P9 in America. He has registered back-to-back podiums in the past two Sprints, with P2 in the United States and in Spain, but his lack of pace over the Grands Prix has been a concern.

Ducati saw positive signs on Friday at Le Mans, though, as Bagnaia finished third as LCR star Johann Zarco set the pace in practice at the French GP. The Italian led the Bologna Bullets in practice, as teammate Marc Marquez only sealed P13 and must go through Q1 in qualifying.

Johann Zarco books himself a spot in Q2 with the fastest time in practice at Le Mans… Will Marc Marquez manage to make it through Q1? 👀

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Francesco Bagnaia is ‘happy’ after finding his ‘limit’ in practice at the 2026 French Grand Prix

Bagnaia is feeling the benefits of Ducati’s new fairing after trying it during the post-race test at Jerez, in search of a better feeling with the front end of the Desmosedici GP26. He thinks Ducati’s upgrades have paid off at Le Mans as he was able to find his “limit” during practice.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 French Grand Prix and Le Mans weather forecast

Zarco set the pace in the timed pre-qualifying practice session on Friday with a 1:29.907, as he edged VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio aboard his GP26 with a 1:29.917. Bagnaia and Alex Marquez of Gresini both registered 1:30.045 laps aboard their GP26s to finish in P3 and P4.

Bagnaia said, via quotes by Moto.it: “Let’s wait and see. It went well, we worked well, the conditions were good today, and the work we did in testing today helped me a bit.

“I’m happy with the feeling I had. I pushed myself to the limit, and that’s something that’s really satisfying – understanding why, and reaching the limit is exciting. Overall, it’s been a positive day from the morning onwards, improving step by step. I’m happy.”

Pecco Bagnaia admits he ‘destroyed’ his new fairing with a late crash at Le Mans

Friday was not flawless for Bagnaia, though, as the 2022 and 2023 champion ended the day with a crash at Turn 6, which cost his Ducati teammate Marquez his final chance to improve his lap time. Bagnaia found the gravel trap as he tried to push even harder for a quicker lap.

The crash might carry a big consequence for Bagnaia, along with Marquez, too, as the Turin native is not sure whether Ducati will have another version of their new fairing for his GP26. Bagnaia admits that his crash at the end of practice on Friday “destroyed” the fairing he had.

“Things were already going well, and that one made me feel a bit better,” Bagnaia added. “So, it’s a positive. I destroyed it. I hope we’ll have one for tomorrow, too. But if it rains, we won’t use it.”