Barcelona MotoGP: Marquez fastest as Yamaha pair miss Q2 spots

Following rider criticism, a new-for-2017 chicane was dropped overnight, with MotoGP reverting to Barcelona's Formula 1 layout, used for last year's race.

With that, times from Friday's two practice sessions were effectively wiped, with only this session determining the 10 riders progressing directly into Q2.

While Marquez led the way by a tenth, Vinales and Rossi could only manage 13th and 15th - the brand electing not to test at Barcelona with rivals last month - and will both contest the first phase of qualifying.

Marquez and Alvaro Bautista led the way after the first flying laps, but both crashed at Turn 10 seven minutes into the session.

Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro displaced Marquez at the top of the order 15 minutes in with a 1m45.198s, but when the world champion rejoined on his second Honda Marquez turned a 1m45.087s five minutes later.

Having struggled on Friday, Vinales vaulted up to become Marquez's closest challenger almost immediately, the Yamaha rider slotting in just 0.002 seconds adrift.

Championship leader Vinales ultimately failed to improve, while Rossi found time late, but only enough to move from 18th to 15th on his penultimate lap, the pair more than seven tenths off.

On his second bike, like Marquez, Aspar Ducati's Bautista started the late-session shootout on soft tyres with 15 minutes to go when he went fastest by nearly half-a-second with a 1m44.594s.

Espargaro beat that by 0.007s with seven minutes remaining, his new benchmark a 1m44.587s lowered by Dani Pedrosa's 1m44.279s with three minutes to go.

Marquez got back on top with a 1m44.178s entering the final minute and was not beaten, finishing 0.101s clear of team-mate Pedrosa, with Bautista and Espargaro rounding out the top four.

Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo finished fourth and fifth, Dovizioso improving late from 17th on the timesheets, ahead of Suzuki's Andrea Iannone.

Pramac Ducati pair Scott Redding and Danilo Petrucci and Avintia Ducati's Hector Barbera completed the top 10 and secured the remaining Q2 spots.

Jonas Folger and Cal Crutchlow missed out by 0.063s to Barbera, while Folger's Tech3 Yamaha team-mate Johann Zarco was 16th, having crashed at Turn 9 mid-session.

PRACTICE THREE TIMES: