2018 Le Mans MotoGP FP4 Result: Dovizioso Heads Close Field

The last shot for the premier class to play with tire combinations led to pretty much the predictable result, although this time the pendulum swung back towards Ducati’s quarters. Andrea Dovizioso waited until the very last lap to get the best of a new medium rear and head to the top of the timesheets, denying fellow Ducatista Danilo Petrucci. Dovizioso was quite fast on a hard rear as well, although it was an unusual option for the Italian, the tire not having many advocates given the conditions. Petrucci’s fast time was set on used softs, which might not give many worries to his rivals as it seemed to be an unlikely race choice for the Pramac rider.

Marc Marquez started the session at the top of the standings before him and his carbon fibre swingarm got displaced by the two Italians. The world champion did two runs on used tires, one on a soft rear followed by a medium which had gathered a dozen laps already and was still posting mid 1:32s, so there was no reason for concern for that part of the Honda camp.

Johann Zarco was predictably fast on both the medium and the soft rear and climbed into fourth, only a tenth of a second separating him from Dovizioso. Andrea Iannone wasn’t too far either, a tenth faster than Jorge Lorenzo who looked quick and consistent on his second hand pair of softs.

Maverick Viñales wasn’t quite as rocket fast as the earlier practice session but the Yamaha man looked good in seventh and with good pace on the medium. Dani Pedrosa found some warmth and subsequently some speed to climb into eighth, ahead of Valentino Rossi, whose session started with a small tumble and ended in ninth.

The top ten was completed by Jack Miller, only four tenths off the leader. Cal Crutchlow and Alex Rins joined the crash list but both got back to work straight after, just outside the top ten.

Results: