Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin went fastest in the opening MotoGP practice session for the French Grand Prix during a session that was covered with tight margins.
Martin fronted the times as track action began at Le Mans with a time of 1:31.421s to go over two-tenths quicker than Spanish compatriot Pedro Acosta’s GasGas.
The Pramac rider used a new Soft rear tyre for his final run, which reduced the rear chatter of his bike but also meant he used the softest rubber from his allocation.
Acosta elevated his GasGas KTM to second in the timesheets, sliding from side-to-side at the heavy braking zones of Turns 7 and 9 as he strived to push the limits.
Acosta made an insane save at Turn 5, the front of the bike nearly sliding from underneath the Spaniard, who managed to gather his bike and run wide into the gravel.
Maverick Viñales would climb to third with his Aprilia as he accompanied Acosta into the 1:31.600s bracket, with both using a worn set of tyres for their final two runs.
Some riders initially struggled to keep it on the track, with the new kerbs that have been laid down over the last few weeks creating a different feeling for their bikes.
Turns 13 and 14 proved particularly difficult to negotiate, with Ducati’s Enea Bastianini running over the bumpy kerbs on a couple of occasions across his first outing.
Reigning World Champion Francesco Bagnaia would end the session fifth fastest, initially having similar issues to his Ducati team-mate Bastianini with the track’s kerbs.
Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez placed sixth, with the Spaniard having a couple of laps cancelled, while Aleix Espargaro finished seventh with Brad Binder’s KTM eighth.
Binder would crash towards the end of the session at the long right-hander of Turn 11, shortly after setting his best lap time, which was half a second behind Martin.
Marc Marquez had initially gone quickest in the session aboard his Gresini Ducati bike, but he slipped down to ninth at the session’s end, with Marco Bezzecchi 10th.
