Teruel MotoGP: Morbidelli fastest in FP3 as Ducati miss Q2 again
Franco Morbidelli led a tight third MotoGP practice for the Teruel Grand Prix as all Ducati runners fall into Q1 for the second week in a row
Not even four tenths covered the direct Q2 graduates at the end of FP3 in the top 10, with Petronas SRT's Morbidelli leading the pack by 0.059 seconds with a 1m47.333s posted at the death.
Improvements on the combined timesheets were typically minimal in the early stages of FP3, with Morbidelli the most notable improver up to eighth from 15th with a 1m48.233s.
The factory Ducati's of Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso did find time on their Friday bests, but remained 16th and 18th on the timesheets following a dismal Friday.
With half the 45-minute session gone, Morbidelli's SRT team-mate Fabio Quartararo went fastest on the individual timesheet with a 1m48.171s, before finally deposing Nakagami's Friday best with a 1m47.401s.
Quartararo, just as he did on Friday, spent a handful of laps at the start of the session shadowing title rival Joan Mir on the Suzuki having spotted on Friday where the Yamaha was losing out to the GSX-RR.
Nakagami's first time attack lap put him to within 0.009s of Quartararo's lap, before his second effort on the 2019 Honda put him top of the pile with a 1m47.392s.
As the pace increased in the closing stages as the grid made their plays to gain direct access to the pole shootout session, Nakagami's lap remained intact.
However, Morbidelli found time on his last lap to depose Nakagami by 0.059s, while Quartararo held onto third ahead of factory Yamaha counterpart Maverick Vinales.
Alex Marquez on the factory Honda leaped up to fifth late with a 1m47.546s to make his second appearance in Q2 this season, while fellow rookie Iker Lecuona led the KTM charge on the Tech3 RC16.
Aragon GP race winner Alex Rins was the best Suzuki runner in seventh, with Miguel Oliveira ensuring both Tech3 KTMs feature in Q2 this afternoon after the Austrian manufacturer made a breakthrough in set-up following a tough time last weekend.
Cal Crutchlow was ninth on his LCR Honda, with championship leader Mir securing the final Q2 place by just 0.007s from Pramac's Jack Miller.
Miller was the closest any Ducati rider got to escaping Q1 in FP3, with title contender Dovizioso only 14th as his tough weekend continues.
He'll be joined in Q1 by team-mate Petrucci, who was 17th ahead of Pramac's Francesco Bagnaia, while factory KTM rider Pol Espargaro will also feature after a late mistake on his flying lap.
Avintia's Johann Zarco brought up the rear of the field after crashing at Turn 9 in the closing stages.
MotoGP Teruel Grand Prix - FP3 results
Pos | Rider | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Franco Morbidelli | Petronas Yamaha | 1m47.333s |
2 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | 0.059s |
3 | Fabio Quartararo | Petronas Yamaha | 0.068s |
4 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha | 0.140s |
5 | Alex Marquez | Honda | 0.213s |
6 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM | 0.215s |
7 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 0.221s |
8 | Miguel Oliveira | Tech3 KTM | 0.292s |
9 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | 0.375s |
10 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | 0.382s |
11 | Jack Miller | Pramac Ducati | 0.406s |
12 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 0.409s |
13 | Brad Binder | KTM | 0.489s |
14 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 0.545s |
15 | Tito Rabat | Avintia Ducati | 0.690s |
16 | Pol Espargaro | KTM | 0.692s |
17 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | 0.763s |
18 | Francesco Bagnaia | Pramac Ducati | 0.801s |
19 | Stefan Bradl | Honda | 0.922s |
20 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia | 1.138s |
21 | Johann Zarco | Avintia Ducati | 1.168s |
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