Source: MotoGP

The in-form Marc Marquez has picked up at Le Mans where he left off in Jerez, firing in the fastest laps of both free practice sessions to open round five in France.

With four successive pole positions and wins to his credit thus far, the onus now sits with the Spanish rider’s rivals to try to break their opponent’s ever-growing streak.

It wasn’t to be on day one, with the Repsol Honda rider leading teammate Dani Pedrosa in the morning free practice by 0.189 seconds, with Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi a further 0.064 seconds in arrears.

Practice two also belonged to Marquez who made considerable gains on his morning showing. His 1m33.452 effort dips beneath the record race lap set by Pedrosa in 2011.

Another strong showing for Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone saw him fight his way to second and come within 0.007 seconds of the benchmark time.

Alvaro Bautista was third-fastest for GO&FUN Gresini Honda, an important result as he seeks to build back confidence and ultimately return to racing for top points finishes after a disappointing start to the season.

Fourth was Bradley Smith for Monster Tech3 Yamaha, a solid result considering the Brit crashed heavily during the morning run.

Pedrosa held his place in the top five, 0.490 seconds off the lead, with Stefan Bradl close behind on the LCR MotoGP Honda.

Jorge Lorenzo registered seventh at the close of track activity but the Yamaha rider was one of few who chose not to run a new tyre on his final laps.

He is confident that a new tyre could bring gains of at least half-a-second and will be one to watch in qualifying.

Andrea Dovizioso brought home the first factory Ducati in eighth, with Aleix Esparagaro in ninth on the NGM Forward Yamaha.

Unlike teammate Lorenzo, tenth-placed Rossi came away from Friday frustrated. The Italian rider was left to rue a number of problems, including a “nervous” bike under acceleration, which saw him finish 1.046 seconds off Marquez’ best.

It proved a tough opening day for Broc Parkes, with both Paul Bird Motorsport machines running at the tail end of the timesheets.

The Aussie rounded out the first day in 22nd with a 1m37.136 lap and will look for further improvements in free practice three ahead of qualifying.

Pons HP 40 Moto2 rookie Luis Salom led the way in the Moto2 class on Friday, edging out Marc VDS Racing’s Esteve Rabat by 0.060 seconds.

Maverick Vinales put the second Pons HP 40 in third, narrowly holding out Technomag carXpert’s Dominque Aegerter, while Jonas Folger completed the top 10, 0.274 seconds off P1 pace.

The second session brought about dramatic improvement for the field, with positions one to 18 running within a second of each other.

QMMF Racing Team’s Ant West was 27th, with the Aussie looking for further gains come Saturday.

In the Moto3 ranks it was Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda pairing Alex Marquez and Alex Rins who locked down the fast laps on Friday, with Jack Miller well in the mix in third.

The Red Bull KTM-mounted Aussie was just 0.048 seconds off the leading time, a promising sign ahead of qualifying and Sunday’s race where he is aiming to build upon his points lead.

Just 0.150 seconds split the top five runners, with KTM riders Isaac Vinales fourth and Enea Bastianini rounding out the group.

An improved showing from Australia’s Arthur Sissis saw him finish day one in 17th for Mahindra Racing, 0.957 seconds away from the top time.

2014 MotoGP World Championship
Round five – Le Mans, France

MotoGP free practice results:
1. Marc MARQUEZ 1m33.452
2. Andrea IANNONE 1m33.459
3. Alvaro BAUTISTA 1m33.668
4. Bradley SMITH 1m33.920
5. Dani PEDROSA 1m33.942
6. Stefan BRADL 1m34.040
7. Jorge LORENZO 1m34.054
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO 1m34.117
9. Aleix ESPARGARO 1m34.134
10. Valentino ROSSI 1m34.498
22. Broc PARKES 1m37.136

Moto2 free practice results:
1. Luis SALOM 1m38.254
2. Esteve RABAT 1m38.314
3. Maverick VIÑALES 1m38.365
4. Dominique AEGERTER 1m38.369
5. Jonas FOLGER 1m38.528
6. Simone CORSI 1m38.640
7. Mika KALLIO 1m38.659
8. Franco MORBIDELLI 1m38.703
9. Julian SIMON 1m38.742
10. Alex DE ANGELIS 1m38.788
27. Anthony WEST (AUS) 1m39.772

Moto3 free practice results:
1. Alex MARQUEZ 1m43.395
2. Alex RINS 1m43.436
3. Jack MILLER (AUS) 1m43.443
4. Isaac VIÑALES 1m43.529
5. Enea BASTIANINI 1m43.545
6. Romano FENATI 1m43.752
7. John MCPHEE 1m43.833
8. Miguel OLIVEIRA 1m43.839
9. Karel HANIKA 1m43.873
10. Francesco BAGNAIA 1m43.987
17. Arthur SISSIS (AUS) 1m44.352

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