2020 MotoGP French Grand Prix session timings and preview – MotoGP

After one week’s rest, MotoGP gears up for a second straight triple-header which starts at Le Mans with the French Grand Prix.

Following a torrid run of results, Fabio Quartararo returned to the fore with victory at the Catalunya GP ahead of Suzuki’s Joan Mir and the pair have formed a small breakaway at the top of the riders’ standings.

Heading into his home round, Quartararo leads Mir by eight points with fellow Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales in third place and 18 points back.

Despite finally confirming his MotoGP future at the Petronas SRT Yamaha squad during the last round, Valentino Rossi feels his own title hopes have “closed” after crashing out of the Catalan GP.

The 2021 MotoGP grid is quickly taking shape with Ducati also confirming Francesco Bagnaia would join current team-mate Jack Miller at the factory squad next year, while Johann Zarco will move up from Avintia to partner Jorge Martin at Pramac.

Immediately ahead of the French GP, six manufacturer test riders plus 13 riders on the current grid have completed a one-day test on Wednesday at the Algarve circuit using production street bikes to familiarise themselves with the track ahead of November’s finale in Portugal.

This year’s French GP starts an hour earlier on Sunday than the traditional European schedule in order to avoid a clash for television broadcasters with the Formula 1 Eifel GP.

2020 French MotoGP session timings

MotoGP will run its traditional schedule of two free practice sessions lasting 45 minutes each on Friday, with another 45-minute practice session on Saturday morning. The top 10 on the combined FP1-2-3 timesheet will automatically enter into Q2 of qualifying. A final 30-minute FP4 session is held on Saturday afternoon ahead of qualifying.

Q1 of qualifying is where all riders who did not finish in the top 10 of the combined practice times take part with the top two finishers progressing into Q2 alongside the top 10 who gained an automatic spot via their practice times.

Q2 is the pole position shootout which decides the order of the front four rows, with the rest of the grid organised on Q1 times, for the 27-lap French GP on Sunday.

Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE are also in action during the French GP.

Friday 9th October 2020
Free Practice 1: 8:55am-9:40am BST (9:55am-10:40am local)
Free Practice 2: 1:10pm-1:55pm BST (2:10pm-2:55pm local)

Saturday 10th October 2020
Free Practice 3: 8:55am-9:40am BST (9:55am-10:40am local)
Free Practice 4: 12:30pm-1:00pm BST (1:30pm-2:00pm local)
Qualifying: 1:10pm-1:50pm BST (2:10pm-2:50pm local)

Sunday 11th October 2020
Warm Up: 8:30am-8:50am BST (9:30am-9:50am local)
Race: 12:00pm BST (1:00pm local)

How can I watch the French MotoGP?

Channel: BT Sport 2
Channel numbers – Sky: 414 (BT Sport 2)
Channel numbers – Virgin Media: 528 (BT Sport)

BT Sport’s live coverage of Sunday’s action starts with the warm-up sessions at 08:00am, taking it from the world feed, before switching to its own broadcast at 10:00am for the pre-race show ahead of the Moto3 race.

The build-up to the MotoGP race starts from 11:30am, or when the Moto2 race finishes, ahead of lights out at 12:00pm.

Can I stream the French MotoGP?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can also stream the French GP by purchasing a video pass from MotoGP.com. A one-off video pass, which lasts until the first race of the 2021 season, costs £91.05.

The video pass gives access to every live session, qualifying and race, plus world feed content and the chance to watch previous races.

Weather forecast for the French MotoGP?

Le Mans is set for mixed conditions with showers forecast throughout the French GP race weekend, with highs of 14 degrees Celsius on race day, cooler than the last race in Catalunya. Last month Le Mans hosted both the 24 Hours Motos and Le Mans 24 Hours behind closed doors, with the motorcycle endurance race hit by showers while the car equivalent remained largely dry.

Most French MotoGP wins (premier class only)

Jorge Lorenzo: 5 wins (2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016)
Giacomo Agostini: 4 wins (1969, 1970, 1972, 1975)
Mick Doohan: 4 wins (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
Freddie Spencer: 3 wins (1983, 1984, 1985)
Valentino Rossi: 3 wins (2002, 2005, 2008)
Marc Marquez: 3 wins (2014, 2018, 2019)
Barry Sheene: 3 wins (1976, 1977, 1979)
Eddie Lawson: 3 wins (1986, 1988, 1989)
Alex Criville: 3 wins (1998, 1999, 2000)