It is a Yamaha on the rise, and after Jerez the M1 we can find it again there up at the front. All credit to Fabio Quartararo, who set the second quickest time of the day behind the Ducati of Marc Marquez.
The Frenchman then made the enthusiasm of the home crowd explode, showing confidence ahead of the continuation of the weekend at the French track.
"I think it was a positive day," he said, "we have a good pace, both on the one lap and in view of the race, much better than at Jerez. In Spain I was surprised while here everything was natural right from the start. I have to say that I feel better, aware that there are many strong riders besides me."
Tomorrow a new pole like at Jerez?
"Tough question, but it's always possible. I am a rider who can take off in the lead after one lap and I like that. Obviously the goal is to be on the front row, in the first 5-6 positions."
Did you think you would be so close to the top positions?
"In Qatar we improved by one and a half seconds while one second and four tenths in Jerez. I expect to be close to the record lap. I didn't expect to be second, but certainly close to the record."
Here you have the new engine, right?
"Yes, confirmed. Here the straights are short, but it's good to see that it is better performing, without having problems."
What happened in the final part?
"I was out of fuel. However, I will try to have a great weekend ahead of tomorrow and Sunday."
What is the situation in terms of grip?
"The grip is very high and we can perform. Of course we have to understand our situation when there is low grip, as we might be further behind because of the tires. For sure we have to accept that we have to suffer, but at other moments we have to take advantage of it."
While Quartararo is smiling, further behind can be found Alex Rins, only 17th on the other M1.
"Today's was a positive day," he said, "I crashed this morning, there were some up and downs, however, we did a good job. Obviously it's not easy to improve. In FP1 I was quite fast in T1, the problem is that I can't brake as hard as I would like, as I struggled in that respect in the afternoon."
Was the one lap missing?
"On the one lap a message came out that I had no battery on the dashboard. It was difficult to manage because with the first tire I couldn't take advantage of the time I had because of the flags as well. So I went back to the pit and couldn't do anything else."
How do you rate the new engine?
"The new engine is behaving quite well. Maybe I am struggling in the third sector, but I hope that tomorrow we can take the step forward that I need."
Grip and tires on the other hand, what are your thoughts on that?
"The grip is acceptable. Something is lacking, but it's not bad. On the tires, however, I have to say that I was surprised by the choice of hard front this morning by almost all the riders."