Marco Bezzecchi, third at Le Mans: "I had a lot of fun in qualifying."

The weekend had started quietly for the championship-leading Aprilia. Marco Bezzecchi himself acknowledges that the Bugatti Circuit presents particular challenges for him, and that the gaps between all the riders there are traditionally very small—making every tenth of a second precious and every mistake immediately punished. However, the dynamics changed on Saturday: "We improved compared to yesterday; I felt better on the bike this morning. I had a lot of fun in qualifying, I'm happy."

Visible progress in the times with a time of 1:29.657 — 23 thousandths of a second off the pole time set by Francesco Bagnaia — which allows him to set up on the front row for the Sprint on Saturday afternoon and the race on Sunday.

The Italian is not content to simply savor this result and is keeping a cool head about what awaits him in the race: "It's a difficult weekend for us because this circuit is very challenging and the gaps are always very small. We still need to make progress because the races will be tougher." A welcome moment of clarity for a driver who arrives at Le Mans with the championship leader's bib on his shoulders — an added pressure on a track that is not his preferred terrain.

Ahead of Marco Bezzecchi, Francesco Bagnaia secured pole position, the first for the Italian since the 2025 Malaysian Grand Prix. Marc Márquez, his teammate in the official Ducati team, completes the front row after smashing the Bugatti Circuit lap record in Q1 but unable to repeat his performance in Q2.

Driver number 72 will therefore start third, in the best possible position to monitor two of his main rivals in the championship and manage his race according to their moves. "I'm happy with this result and now we're focused on the Sprint."he concluded, his eyes already turned towards the coming hours. The first race of the weekend will take place this Saturday at 15 p.m.

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