It was a last lap dash for Zarco after also proving a superstar in Q1, the Frenchman getting his head down and into the zone as the factory Yamaha pairing pushed at the front. Seemingly forced to settle for Row 2, the double Moto2 Champion kept pounding around the 2.6 mile circuit undeterred and lit up the timesheets on his final lap to take back the front row.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) was the man just pushed back by Zarco’s last lap and starts P4, ahead of reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) after a more difficult day for the number 93. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) – fastest in Q1 from Zarco – completes the second row.

Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) starts P7 despite a crash after topping FP3 in Le Mans too, with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) giving the Austrian factory their best ever qualifying to date in P8 – an awesome achievement in their first season, and with teammate Bradley Smith also in the Q2 shootout and lining up in tenth.

Splitting the two ‘Bulls’ was Karel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) in a solid showing for the Czech rider, with Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and French favourite Loris Baz (Reale Avintia Racing) completing the top twelve. Miller slid out in the session and also suffered a huge incident in FP4 - rider ok.

After rain affected sessions throughout the weekend, some big names find themselves falling foul of the fight to get through Q1, with Jerez winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) in P13, ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) and Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) to lock out the fastest fifteen. Le Mans’ most successful premier class rider on the grid, Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) faces a fight back on Sunday from sixteenth.

Q2 Result:

After a damp start to FP3, it was a rush to Q2 in the final few minutes as the times tumbled and the field pushed hard to gain entry to the second qualifying session, with slicks on in the final few minutes and red sectors lighting up the timing screens. Jack Miller’s (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) Friday best was initially unthreatened, before Redding and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) hit back and the dash to the top ten was on.

After the initial dash, it was Redding and Crutchlow who led the charge to Q2, with Miller slotting into third. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) moved through safely in P4, just ahead of reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).

Karel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) again showed some impressive pace in the drying conditions to take sixth, in front of an incredible headline story for Red Bull KTM Factory racing: Pol Espargaro leads the Austrian factory’s charge in P7 with their first ever direct entry to Q2 – but the good news didn’t stop there, with teammate Bradley Smith making it both ‘bulls’ into Q2 in P10.

Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took eighth, ahead of fastest home hero Loris Baz (Reale Avintia Racing), who pushed hard to keep his spot in the top ten – just ahead of Smith.

There are a huge number of names out and heading through Q1 – with a shaken up grid now a surety for the French GP. From P11 down through the field, the riders heading into Q1 include: Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), and the two men who found themselves pushed down to the bottom of the timesheets in FP3: Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) and Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team).

After FP4 – not timed for qualifying – Q1 gets underway at 14:10 (GMT +2) as the race is on to get back into the fight for the top ten on the grid.

Full Result:

Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales topped FP4 at Le Mans from Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa, with Valentino Rossi completing the top three.

Home hero Johann Zarco was P4 for Monster Yamaha Tech 3, ahead of Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing),  Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team).

‘DesmoDovi’ was the first crasher on cold tyres at Turn 10, followed shortly by teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) had a big crash – rider ok – before Marquez also took a tumble, and then saved another. Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was another faller as track conditions proved tricky.

Full Result:

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) showed good pace in the wet and mixed conditions that greeted the grid on Day 1 at the French GP, and the Brit ended the day fourth overall from his time set in a drier FP1.

FP2 saw some difficulties keep Crutchlow from the top ten, but the rider from Coventry is sure he’d be competitive had it been race day – and weather looks set to change for much of the rest of the weekend.

"This morning was not bad, but I didn’t take any risks as these kind of days can really wreck your season." Said the two time GP winner "If you make a small mistake you can pay a heavy price when really it doesn’t mean so much to final outcome of the weekend, especially when we think Sunday is going to be dry."

“I always seem I have good pace in the mixed conditions and in the wet, but this afternoon I had a really bad feeling with the tyre and my feeling with the bike overall was not great."

"We are 1.6 seconds off at the moment, but I had such a bad feeling with the bike, and a few small problems, that I think it’s easy to say we could have been very competitive if we needed to be. If it was a Sunday race we would have been there for sure.”