Pramac’s Johann Zarco got his home FrenchGP off to the best starts possible by topping Friday’s practice times at Le Mans.

Revelling in the mixed conditions, the Frenchman joined fellow Ducati rider Jack Miller in the top-two for the morning’s FP1 before beating his countryman Fabio Quartararo to the top-spot in the dry afternoon session.

The national-pride was clear to see as Zarco’s 1’31.747 concluded the opening day of his home Grand Prix in control of the standings, denying Quartararo with his penultimate effort to head the French 1-2 by 0.095s.

“A good day for me,” the Pramac rider said . “This morning to get the track wet but drying was great for me because I like these conditions and it helped me to have the time to find the confidence on the bike and get the good references on the track. So that was great and almost like a perfect warm-up for the afternoon, where the track was completely dry. Maybe the only dry session before qualifying means we have to be fast to be in the top-10.

“With the soft front tyre I’m feeling good, but always very careful at the entry to the chicane. I think we had many crashes this afternoon because it’s the first weekend with cold conditions and sometimes we can forget how the cold conditions can surprise you - it’s not easy to be fast and careful.

“From the first exit and overall from the second exit, I’ve improved my lap time and got the feeling really on the track. This brought me happiness on the bike and the last run also, four laps with the soft tyre, was quite fast. I’m so happy that I could have this lap under ‘32 that is already good.

“I am very satisfied. To have been able to ride on a dry track in FP2 has been extremely important, given the unpredictable weather that we are experiencing. I was having a good time and the feeling I had was perfect in FP1. Later in FP2 it improved even more. I’m just happy today. I need to wait now and adapt to the conditions we have tomorrow.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, the Frenchman explained ”We know the Yamaha is strong here in the dry and the ‘32.1 Fabio did during his first run this afternoon was very impressive. He has this capacity to immediately go pretty fast and in the case of dry conditions for the race, as Ducati riders we have to be careful to not let him go – as he was ready to do in Jerez - but then with used tyres, maybe after half race, we are more equal I would say between the Yamaha and the Ducati. So that’s why I think our game in Ducati is don’t let him go, because if not then it can be hard to catch him back.”