Viñales continues his momentum and dreams of a podium at Le Mans

Winner of Le Mans in 2017, Maverick Viñales has always performed well on the Bugatti Circuit track. Coming into the 2025 French Grand Prix with a podium finish in Qatar (removed following a penalty for low tire pressure) and a top-5 finish in Jerez, the Spanish rider had every reason to believe in a good result this weekend. After the first day, the KTM Tech3 rider qualified for Q2, setting the eighth fastest time in the afternoon practice session.

On paper, it seems difficult to see the orange machine playing at the front to the point of reaching the podium. But in terms of race pace, Maverick Viñales seems able to climb into a very close fight, behind the untouchable Marc Márquez. Enough to explain the very good face that the former Aprilia rider displayed when he met the press at the end of the two sessions this Friday. Viñales, as we know, is a rider who runs on confidence, and his is excessively high after the last two Grands Prix. All this, while remaining in a learning phase on a new machine.

“It was a good day! I'm learning the bike more and more, day by day, and I'm facing different challenges. Today, I had a bit of oversteer under braking, and I had to adapt my riding style quite a bit. It's a good thing because even with some issues, I'm able to go very fast. Before, I might have struggled a bit in some areas, but now, if I have some difficulties, I still manage to be fast. I'm very focused for Saturday because I think we can have a great weekend.”

Crucial qualifying for Viñales at Le Mans

For the number 12, the qualifying session, which will begin at 11:15 a.m. for the Q2 riders, will therefore be decisive. Starting at the front of the chase group behind Márquez could guarantee a more relaxed Sprint and, above all, a more relaxed Grand Prix, both on Saturday and Sunday. After some more difficult years where his brilliant performances were rather temporary, the native of Figueras seems to have regained the confidence and determination he had when he arrived with a bang at the official Yamaha team in 2017 after excellent years as an outsider at Suzuki.

"On Friday, the pace we showed would allow us to fight for second place, which means we need to put in a perfect lap to put us in the front positions, because the pace is there. It's true that there are quite a few riders fighting behind Marc Márquez, so the higher up the grid we can get, the easier it will be! So it will be very important to put in a good lap in qualifying this Saturday."

ALSO READ > 'Perfect' conditions allowed Marc Márquez to break the Le Mans record