MotoGP Argentina: Marquez dominates wet FP3, Ducatis miss Q2 spots
Honda rider Marc Marquez dominated the third MotoGP practice session at Argentina's Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, as both works Ducati riders missed out on automatic Q2 spots
A wet-weather session left championship leader Andrea Dovizioso and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo - as well as Pramac rider Danilo Petrucci, also riding a 2018-specification Ducati - outside of the combined practice top 10, after the Italian marque's bikes struggled on Friday.
Rain overnight followed by overcast conditions in the morning meant the track surface did not dry in time for third practice, and riders were forced to wet-tyre test.
Marquez seized the top spot in the opening minutes, but was soon surpassed by Dovizioso, before Tech3 duo Hafizh Syahrin and Johann Zarco also took turns at the front.
But the reigning champion reclaimed the lead with the session's first sub-1m51s lap, before subsequent improvements shuffled him down the order.
Yet Marquez saved his best for last, logging a 1m48.896s in the final seconds - which left him comfortably in first place, despite being over nine seconds down on his Friday benchmark.
Zarco improved at the chequered flag to cut Marquez's advantage to 0.607s, while Nieto Ducati duo Alvaro Bautista and Karel Abraham were the only other two riders to get within a second of the Honda man.
Petrucci made it three Ducatis in the top five in FP3, followed by LCR's Cal Crutchlow and KTM rider Pol Espargaro, with Syahrin, Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa making up the top 10.
While both works Ducati riders will have to fight their way through Q1, the rest of MotoGP's leading factories are assured of having their bikes in the pole shoot-out.
Marquez and Pedrosa will be joined in Q2 by Crutchlow on his privateer Honda, with Suzuki riders Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins and Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales of Yamaha also booking their spots.
Zarco and Pramac Ducati's Jack Miller are in as well, as the two riders to advance on the strength of their FP1 times.
Miller is joined by fellow GP17 rider Tito Rabat - the only other Ducati to make sure of a Q2 spot.
FP3 results
| Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 1m48.896s | 14 |
| 2 | Johann Zarco | Tech3 Yamaha | Yamaha | 0.607s | 21 |
| 3 | Alvaro Bautista | Aspar Ducati | Ducati | 0.932s | 20 |
| 4 | Karel Abraham | Aspar Ducati | Ducati | 0.996s | 15 |
| 5 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Ducati | Ducati | 1.052s | 15 |
| 6 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | Honda | 1.253s | 13 |
| 7 | Pol Espargaro | KTM | KTM | 1.349s | 15 |
| 8 | Hafizh Syahrin | Tech3 Yamaha | Yamaha | 1.365s | 18 |
| 9 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 1.500s | 17 |
| 10 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 1.567s | 16 |
| 11 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1.749s | 19 |
| 12 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1.783s | 17 |
| 13 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1.789s | 17 |
| 14 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | Aprilia | 1.851s | 14 |
| 15 | Scott Redding | Aprilia | Aprilia | 2.076s | 12 |
| 16 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | Ducati | 2.105s | 18 |
| 17 | Tito Rabat | Avintia Ducati | Ducati | 2.155s | 20 |
| 18 | Franco Morbidelli | MVDS Honda | Honda | 2.274s | 19 |
| 19 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | Suzuki | 2.301s | 17 |
| 20 | Bradley Smith | KTM | KTM | 2.400s | 13 |
| 21 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | Honda | 2.740s | 20 |
| 22 | Thomas Luthi | MVDS Honda | Honda | 3.456s | 17 |
| 23 | Xavier Simeon | Avintia Ducati | Ducati | 3.566s | 18 |
| 24 | Jack Miller | Pramac Ducati | Ducati | 3.752s | 6 |
Previous article
Ducati MotoGP bike 'scary' to ride in Argentina practice - Dovizioso
Next article
MotoGP Argentina: Miller takes shock first pole after slicks gamble
About this article
| Series | MotoGP |
| Drivers | Alex Marquez , Marc Marquez |
| Teams | Ducati Team , AB Motoracing |
| Author | Valentin Khorounzhiy |
The "pit bull" MotoGP rookie already drawing legendary comparisons
MotoGP’s 2021 rookie crop is one of the strongest in recent years, but one is already standing out. Jorge Martin’s Doha GP heroics have courted many to compare him to numerous MotoGP legends. Autosport spoke to Pramac boss Francesco Guidotti to find out why MotoGP’s latest Spanish star is already making such an impact
Why MotoGP's stewards must revisit Miller and Mir's Losail clash
Despite Suzuki’s decision not to appeal against Race Direction’s refusal to penalise Jack Miller following the incident with Joan Mir in Losail, something must be done to avoid a repeat of such an incident, which could have easily ended in tragedy
Has Yamaha banished its demons with its 2021 MotoGP bike?
Against the expected run of play at Qatar's Losail circuit, both Yamaha riders Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo carved through a resolute Ducati defence to secure back-to-back MotoGP wins for the Japanese marque. After a difficult 2020, it appears that Yamaha has swaggered back into championship contention
Why MotoGP’s top gun looks more dangerous at the Doha GP
Lightning hasn't struck twice for Maverick Vinales since 2017 and his wayward form of recent years makes predicting how he'll fare each MotoGP race weekend tricky. But fresh from his Qatar GP win, Vinales looks like an even more dangerous prospect for the Doha GP following an intriguing Friday practice
Why MotoGP’s new Amazon series is long overdue
OPINION: MotoGP is getting its own version of Drive to Survive on Amazon Prime at some point in the near future. It was news welcomed by the grid’s leading riders. And following the impact DTS has had on Formula 1, MotoGP desperately needs the same boost.
Did the Qatar GP hint at Ducati’s true MotoGP leader?
OPINION: Johann Zarco talked a big game pre-season, and is so far vindicating himself as a factory rider at Pramac after finishing the Qatar GP as top Ducati in second. And contrasting his and Jack Miller's weekends and their approaches, is Zarco emerging as Ducati's true MotoGP leader?
The key changes behind the latest 'return of the Mack'
Maverick Vinales’s authoritative victory at the MotoGP season opener came during a period of personal and professional change for the Yamaha rider. Can it be the springboard for a title challenge?
The past clues which hint at the MotoGP order in Qatar
The MotoGP season kicks off this weekend in Qatar - two years after it last visited the Losail circuit for a race weekend as last season's round was called off. As ever, the pecking order is difficult to map out at this early stage of the season, but perhaps the 2019 race offers some clues as to how things might shake out...
