Source: MotoGP.

The surprise of the day at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France came from Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who in FP2 was the fastest of the day with a 1m34.179s lap.

While all the riders improved on their morning times in FP2, Smith seemed to be inspired – either by the fact that it was the home race for his French team, or by the equally impressive performance of his compatriot Danny Kent in Moto3.

British fans have dreamed of a day dominated by Brit riders and this was the closest they have come in a while, only missing Sam Lowes at the top of the time sheets in Moto2.

After a great weekend in Jerez, Jorge Lorenzo achieved the second best time after a consistently fast session, with Andrea Dovizioso third.

The Italian had been first in FP1, perhaps trying to set the stage for Ducati victory at Le Mans – something that has never happened before.

Cal Crutchlow (CWM-LCR Honda) was fourth in both sessions of the day, while in fifth position on the combined times list was MotoGP World Champion Marc Márquez.

Marquez spent the morning trying different solutions such as the swingarm which premiered at the recent test at Jerez. At the beginning of the session he suffered an electrical problem that forced him to walk back to the pits.

The current championship leader Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), ended in sixth place, only one place above the newly-returned Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), who makes a comeback this weekend after his arm pump problems forced a temporary withdrawal since the first race of the year in Qatar.

Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and his brother Aleix (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ended the day together, in eighth and ninth positions respectively.

Pol had a great weekend at Le Mans last year as a rookie, finishing the race in fourth. That combined with the fact that his teammate Smith was fastest today and that this is the local race for his team, means it would not be shocking to see Pol put on a good show on Sunday.

Pol’s brother Aleix was experimenting with different tyre compounds on his GSX-RR during Free Practice. He ended the day ninth and continues the difficult task of racing an all-new machine, testing and setting up his bike for the first time for almost every circuit in the 2015 season.

The second official Ducati Team rider, Andrea Iannone, finished in a creditable eleventh. The rider returned to action this week after dislocating his left shoulder on a scheduled test at Mugello.

Australian Jack Miller (CWM-LCR Honda) was the first Open class bike on the combined free practice times today, with a 13th position.

The first day of testing at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at Le Mans was very positive for the Moto2 World Champion. Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Estrella Galicia 0’0) led both sessions and set the pace in FP2 with a 1m37.625 lap.

After a difficult start to the season in his Spanish title defence, he wasted no time from the first session of the day, setting a consistent rhythm which could see him take his first victory of the year on Sunday.

Behind Rabat, Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Intewetten Racing) was second in both sessions. Luthi likes Le Mans, with two victories in 125cc victory and a third in Moto2.

Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) arrives as championship leader to his home race in Le Mans. Finishing third in FP1 and fourth in FP2, the Frenchman is sticking to his plan of just going as fast as he can and taking his shot on race day.

Sam Lowes (Speed ​​Up Racing) will be hoping to make up for his disappointing race two weeks ago at the Spanish GP, which he left without points. With a new title sponsor for the French round, the Brit will be gunning for redemption on Sunday and a result that keeps him in the title fight.

In 15th position was Anthony West on the QMMF Racing Team entry, circulating around a second off the pace of Rabat’s front-running pace.

The FP1 and FP2 sessions of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France have seen British rider Danny Kent (Leopard Racing) at the top of the standings again, continuing his dominance of the 2015 season.

The Brit managed to lower his time in the FP2 session by nearly four seconds to make the best lap of the day at 1m42.731s. In general the grid improved lap times over FP1, due to cold track conditions during the morning session.

Second on the combined times sheet for the day was Livio Loi (RW Racing GP), who seemed as at home in Le Mans as he was in Argentina a few weeks ago.

Third-placed Fabio Quartararo (Estrella Galicia 0,0), started the weekend positively on a track where he actually has little experience, despite the fact that he won last year’s FIM CEV Repsol race here.

Rounding out the top five were Efrén Vázquez (Leopard Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Team Moto3). With the exception of Loi, the top five represent the top riders in the Moto3 standings. All are on Hondas.

CIP Moto Mahindra’s Remy Gardner ended Friday 23rd fastest, 1.629s from Kent’s top time, in a promising start to the Aussie rookie’s weekend.

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