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Quartararo dominant in Misano MotoGP FP3

Petronas SRT Yamaha rookie Fabio Quartararo set a blistering pace in the Saturday's third MotoGP practice ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix

Quartararo fired in a late 1m32.081s to outpace nearest rival Maverick Vinales by 0.356s on the works Yamaha, with only three other riders managing to lap within a second of the Frenchman.

The top three in both of Friday's practice session - Vinales, Quartararo and Marc Marquez - assumed their usual positions at the sharp end from the get go in FP3, with Marquez setting a 1m33.051s to lead Vinales by three hundredths, and Quartararo by a tenth.

Quartararo improved to within 0.052s of Marquez early in the second half of the session, and Vinales was then up on the reigning champion's time after three sectors on two separate occasions - but Marquez's laptime held out until the final minutes.

It was then that Vinales used a fresh pair of soft tyres to put together a 1m32.437s, going six tenths clear in FP3 and overhauling his own benchmark from Friday.

However, Quartararo responded immediately with an effort just under a tenth quicker, before lowering the benchmark further still with his next attempt and making sure of the top spot.

Behind the two Yamahas, Pol Espargaro was a standout third for KTM, seeing off Marquez by less than half a tenth despite the championship leader improving at the end.

Quartararo's team-mate Franco Morbidelli shot up to fifth at the chequered flag, leading LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami and Valentino Rossi, who made it four Yamahas in the top seven.

Suzuki's Alex Rins faced a potential battle through Q1, but managed to fight his way into the top 10 at the last second, taking eighth ahead of the two Ducatis of wildcard Michele Pirro and 2018 Misano race winner Andrea Dovizioso.

Rins' last-gasp heroics denied KTM's Johann Zarco a spot in Q2, the Frenchman missing out by just 0.033s - with Tech 3's Miguel Oliveira only another half a tenth down despite nursing a shoulder injury after his collision with Zarco at Silverstone.

LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow, Pramac Ducati's Jack Miller and works Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci were among the biggest names to miss out on an automatic Q2 spot.

Also missing out was Jorge Lorenzo in 19th, the three-time champion's FP3 compromised late on when he suffered a moment as the front wheel of his Honda touched the ground exiting the final corner - apparently caused by his front brake dragging.

Aprilia's Andrea Iannone was 22nd, having suffered his second crash of the weekend at the Rio right-hander.

Pos Rider Team Bike Time Gap Laps
1 Fabio Quartararo Petronas Yamaha Yamaha 1m32.081s - 19
2 Maverick Vinales Yamaha Yamaha 1m32.437s 0.356s 21
3 Pol Espargaro KTM KTM 1m32.646s 0.565s 18
4 Marc Marquez Honda Honda 1m32.686s 0.605s 21
5 Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha Yamaha 1m33.056s 0.975s 20
6 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda Honda 1m33.098s 1.017s 20
7 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Yamaha 1m33.103s 1.022s 21
8 Alex Rins Suzuki Suzuki 1m33.140s 1.059s 24
9 Michele Pirro Ducati Ducati 1m33.294s 1.213s 15
10 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Ducati 1m33.340s 1.259s 21
11 Johann Zarco KTM KTM 1m33.373s 1.292s 19
12 Miguel Oliveira Tech3 KTM KTM 1m33.426s 1.345s 20
13 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda Honda 1m33.432s 1.351s 21
14 Francesco Bagnaia Pramac Ducati Ducati 1m33.448s 1.367s 19
15 Joan Mir Suzuki Suzuki 1m33.497s 1.416s 20
16 Jack Miller Pramac Ducati Ducati 1m33.550s 1.469s 16
17 Danilo Petrucci Ducati Ducati 1m33.680s 1.599s 21
18 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia Aprilia 1m33.890s 1.809s 12
19 Jorge Lorenzo Honda Honda 1m33.951s 1.870s 18
20 Tito Rabat Avintia Ducati Ducati 1m34.177s 2.096s 20
21 Karel Abraham Avintia Ducati Ducati 1m34.423s 2.342s 15
22 Andrea Iannone Aprilia Aprilia 1m34.537s 2.456s 12
23 Hafizh Syahrin Tech3 KTM KTM 1m34.644s 2.563s 17

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