French MotoGP FP Results | Bastianini sets Le Mans record on crash-strewn Friday

Enea Bastianini bounced back to the top of the timesheets with record-breaking pace during Friday free practice for the French MotoGP, despite being one of many to suffer a tumble on an error-strewn day at Le Mans.

The only rider to win more than one race so far this season, the Gresini Ducati rider put the disappointment of his DNF last time out at Jerez behind him to put in a series of quick laps towards the end of the FP2 session.

After having two quick laps cancelled due to track limits, Bastianini hooked it up at his third attempt to stop the clock with a 1m 31.148s, putting him under the lap record and more than two tenths up on second place man Aleix Espargaro.

Even so, Bastianini was one of multiple riders to come down in FP2 alone as the French circuit - notorious for prompting incident with its mid-corner camber shifts - lived up to its infamous reputation, the Italian slipping off at Turn 3 just seconds after setting his time.

He wasn’t alone though with Joan Mir and Jack Miller coming down early on, before Marco Bezzecchi, Luca Marini, Franco Morbidelli and Alex Marquez all tipped off in the final minutes. This came after Bastianini and Morbidelli suffered earlier falls in FP1, along with Miguel Oliveira, Raul Fernandez and Brad Binder.

Behind Espargaro in second on the Aprilia, Alex Rins got his head down amid heavy media scrutiny of his Suzuki team in third place, ahead of Johann Zarco, who survived a dramatic moment mid-way through the session with a high-speed run-on at Turn 2 that briefly had his Pramac Ducati airborne with both wheels off the ground.

Jerez sparring partners Pecco Bagnaia and championship leader Fabio Quartararo were fifth and sixth fastest, with Binder bouncing back from a difficult start to the day to go seventh on the KTM. Joan Mir held onto eighth despite crashing heavily at Turn 7, ahead of FP1 pace setter Pol Espargaro and Jorge Martin in the final provisional Q2 spot in tenth.

Riders with work to do heading into FP3, meanwhile, include Jack Miller in 11th and Marc Marquez in 15th.

2022 French MotoGP | Le Mans | FP1 + FP2 Results [Combined]