In a thrilling qualifying session for the MotoGP French Grand Prix at Le Mans, Francesco Bagnaia secured his first pole position of the season, edging out Marc Márquez by a mere 0.012 seconds. Bagnaia's time of 1:29.634 put him on top of the starting grid for the Bugatti Circuit, with Márquez's qualifying lap of 1:29.288 breaking the circuit record by 0.036 seconds. This new record, set in the first phase of qualifying, underscores Márquez's exceptional performance.

The top three on the grid will be Bagnaia, Márquez, and Marco Bezzecchi, who is currently leading the world championship. Fabio Di Giannantonio secured fourth place after a controversial incident with Bagnaia in the final qualifying lap, but stewards ruled that no foul was committed. Following Di Giannantonio, Pedro Acosta and home favorite Fabio Quartararo, who failed to secure pole for the third consecutive year in front of his home crowd, will start on the second row. The third row will feature Joan Mir, Jorge Martin, and Ai Ogura, while the fourth row includes Alex Márquez, Johann Zarco, and Alex Rins.

The 2026 French Grand Prix, the fifth round of the season, will begin at 16:00 local time with the sprint race, which will consist of 13 laps around the Bugatti Circuit.