Home rider Fabio Quartararo secured his second successive pole by smashing the Le Mans lap record in qualifying on Saturday at the French MotoGP.
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The 26-year-old former world champion snatched top spot right at the end of the session from Marc Marquez with a lap of 1min 29.34sec on his factory Yamaha, ensuring he will start from the front in Saturday's sprint and the main race on Sunday.
Alex Marquez, who is one point clear of his older brother at the top of the championship standings after winning in Spain last month, qualified in third place.
Following an unexpected second-place finish last time out in Jerez, Quartararo continued his revival with a blistering final lap to upstage Ducati's Marc Marquez, the pole-sitter at the first four races of the season.
It was Quartararo's 18th career pole. His pole two weeks ago at the Spanish Grand Prix was his first since 2022.
Spanish rookie Fermin Aldeguer, Alex Marquez's Ducati-Gresini teammate, claimed fourth ahead of Maverick Vinales with Italian two-time former world champion Francesco Bagnaia completing the second row.