MotoGP FP1 results as Luca Marini sets the pace at the French Grand Prix with Marc Marquez only P9

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Honda rider Luca Marini topped the timesheet with the fastest lap time during FP1 at the 2026 French Grand Prix, as Ducati’s Marc Marquez struggled at Le Mans on Friday.

The opening practice session at the 2026 French GP saw a flurry of manufacturers show the potential to enjoy strong weekends at Le Mans. But Marini ended the 45-minute FP1 session as the only rider to post a lap time in the 1:30s, and no Ducati riders ranked in the top three.

VR46 racer Fabio Di Giannantonio, as he has often been during the early rounds of the 2026 MotoGP season, was once again the top Ducati rider with fourth place. Factory Ducati riders Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia briefly showed speed, but both fell down the order.

Luca Marini rounds out FP1 at the French GP on top! 💥 Can Honda expect another Le Mans miracle this weekend?

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Luca Marini set the pace during the first practice session at the 2026 French Grand Prix

As Friday’s sessions are potentially the only fully dry running that the MotoGP teams will get at the French GP this year, most riders were quick to begin their runs at the start of FP1. The early running also offered positive signs that multiple manufacturers might be competitive.

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

Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46 continued his strong start to the season with an early fast lap with his Ducati GP26, while the works Ducati riders took more time to build into the session. KTM’s Pedro Acosta, Honda’s Luca Marini and Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi also started well.

Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez soon settled into the session, as Joan Mir also moved his Honda RC213V closer to Di Giannantonio’s pace as the VR46 star continued to lower the benchmark. Marini and Mir both found the Honda suited Le Mans during the early running.

Even Tech3 ace Enea Bastianini started to find some promising pace in FP1 at the French GP as the final quarter of an hour commenced. The Italian hauled his KTM RC16 up to second, with a deficit of 0.146 seconds to Di Giannantonio’s early benchmark lap time of 1:31.302.

It took until the final six minutes for a rival rider to dethrone Di Giannantonio’s benchmark, as Marini shot to the top of the order with a 1:31.120. The Italian even quickly became the first rider to dip into the 1:30s with a 1:30.857, as multiple riders also started to set quick times.

Unlike in Spain last time out, Tech3 are running two bikes in France this weekend. But Tech3 remain without Maverick Vinales due to his shoulder injury, so have called in KTM test rider Jonas Folger as his replacement. Folger last entered a MotoGP race at the 2023 German GP.

Folger’s lack of recent track time naturally saw the German finish FP1 at the French GP last in the timesheets. Pramac rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu also struggled to find pace during his very first laps around Le Mans, but Alex Rins in P6 offered Yamaha some rare signs of hope.

Full 2026 MotoGP French GP FP1 timesheet at Le Mans