Continuing the them♔e of MotoGP qualifying in 2022, Le Mans produced another tightly-contested Q2 session, albeit one that was again dominatꦺed by Ducati. 

Bagnaia, who secured his first pole of the year last time out in Jerez, set a new lap record - the four♔th time that’s happened today - as he led a factory Ducati 1-2. 

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Jack Miller was aided in his bid to claim a front ro﷽w as team-mate Bagnaia provided the Aওustralian with the perfect tow.

While others got close to Bagna🔯ia, in particular Aleix Espargaro as the Aprilia rider had three red sectors on his final lap, the winner at Jerez has put himself in a prime position to deliver a fourth win for Ducati this season. 

Qualifying w💎asn’t without its shocks and surprises though, so who are they?

Enea Bastianini - 5th 

After finishing fastest on day-one, Bastianini continued▨ his impressive form at Le Mans by matching his second best qualifying result of the season. 

Starting fr🐠om fifth on two other occasions, Bastianini will line-up in the middle of the secon﷽d row after a late effort saw him push Johann Zarco down to sixth. 

Bastianini came close to knocking Bagnaia off top spot, however, sector four was proving to be difficult for the Italian, and he was not alone in encoཧuntering that problem. 

Bagnaia made up❀ most of his time in sectors three and f𝕴our, so although Bastianini was quicker on two separate laps coming into S4, the two-time MotoGP race winner lost out in the end. 

Nevertheless, with Bastianini looking strong on FP4 - a good s๊ign considering late race pace is a major streꦇngth for the former Moto2 champion, starting from fifth is likely to be a position that can allow him to fight for the podium. 

Which MotoGP riders failed to deliver in qualifying?

Johann Zarco - 6th

After looking like the rider to beat in FP3, Zar🦂co failed to deliver the pace many expected, instead m🃏anaging just sixth on the grid. 

Zarco🧔, who secured pole at Le Mans in 2017, was unable t⛎o challenge for the front row at any stage, ahead of a race that could be equally as tricky. 

The French riꦆder was only 15th in FP4 and didn’t appear to have the same race pace as pole sitter Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo or Alex Rins. 

Maverick Vinales - 14th 

With team-mate Aleix ܫEspargaro qualifying in P3, Vinales’s 14th place start in Sunday’s race is yet another sign that he’s starting further back than he should. 

Frustratingly for Vinales, the Spaniard has shown good pace this weekend, but as is becoming all-too familiar for the ex-Yamaha rider, problems in qualifying remওain his downfa⛄ll. 

Mired back in the mid-field, achieving anything better than a top ten is alread﷽y looking difficult for Vin🍷ales. 

Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro a long way off

Marc Marquez - 10th 

While Marquez has struggled for outright pace when alone at Le Mans, the Honda rider looked just fi൲ne when following Quartararo in FP3. 

In fact, Marqu🍎ez did a double stint behind the wor෴ld champion and ultimately finished third. 

But after making a mistake behind𝓡 Bagnaia at the start of🍃 Q2, the eight-time world champion was unable to find any type of rhythm, instead showing frustration with himself at the end of qualifying. 

A similar result to Jerez is goiꩵng to require🌄 a very good start in Sunday’s 27 lap race. 

Pol Espargaro - 11th 

Wi🍸th his future at Honda in the balance, Espargaro started the weekend in good shape as🥀 he finished fastest in FP1. 

And although Espargaro has shown glimpseܫs in other sessions, it’s not been enough to stop a worrying trend. 

Too often Espargaro seems to be struggling to find pace as the weekend goes on, which culminated in finishing four tenths down on Marquez in qualifying. That’s despite the two Repsol riders  bꦬeing separated by just one po🦩sition.