“I touched the white lines” - Martin and Bagnaia react to qualifying crashes
Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia react to Le Mans qualifying crashes after securing front row finishes.
Top two in the MotoGP world championship standings, Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia will start today’s sprint race first and second.
Martin, set an all-time lap record on two occasions during Q2 in order before a crash on his second run.
Speaking in parc ferme, Martin said: “A small crash and a big hit on the bike, but I’m ok. This lap time was quite amazing. I enjoyed it a lot.
“I felt really good with the hard front and I knew my second lap was going to be the fastest one so I gave my 100%.
“My rivals are strong for today but I feel we are fast enough to battle for the sprint.”
Like Martin, Bagnaia was in the mix for pole and looked poised to challenge the Pramac rider halfway through his third flying lap.
However, a small mistake at turn nine had big consequences as he tucked the front-end of his GP24 machine.
Bagnaia added: “I’m ok! The good thing is that the feeling is great and I was fighting for pole position, finally.
“But I just lost it in corner nine. I was pushing a lot and just touched the white lines so I lost the front. But I’m happy overall and the lap was incredible.
“And also the pace with used tyres [is strong]. I’m in the middle of two guys who have great pace but I think we are fast enough.”
Maverick Vinales joins the two Ducati riders on the front row after holding off both Pertamina Enduro VR46 Ducati riders.
