Submitted by Mike Lewis on
Andrea Dovizioso, winner here in Japan last year, seems ready for a redux in 2018. The factory Ducati rider and second-place holder in the championship finished the third dry practice in the same way he finished the first: the top of the timesheet.
Dovizioso's llate charge to a 1'45.107 at the Motegi circuit in Japan on Saturday put him just clear of second-fastest Cal Crutchlow but left him almost two-tenths of a second in front of championship leader Marc Marquez (4th). Johan Zarco continued a strong weekend as the top Yamaha in third.
But Frenchman's showing wasn't a Yamaha anomaly this time. Factory riders Valentino Rossi (5th) and Maverick Vinales (7th) showed better and more consistent pace this weekend so far than the M1 has revealed for much of the year. The two riders finished practice separated by only four-hundredths of a second and Dani Pedrosa (sixth). More importantly, both Yamahas' top 10 showing put them straight into Q2.
Alex Rins (8th) grabbed the top Suzuki spot closely followed by teammate Andrea Iannone (9th). Jack Miller rounded out the top 10.
Results:
Note: Riders in bold go staight to Q2.
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap 1st | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 1'45.107 | ||
| 2 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | 1'45.134 | 0.027 | 0.027 |
| 3 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | Yamaha | 1'45.137 | 0.030 | 0.003 |
| 4 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 1'45.289 | 0.182 | 0.152 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'45.422 | 0.315 | 0.133 |
| 6 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'45.428 | 0.321 | 0.006 |
| 7 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'45.470 | 0.363 | 0.042 |
| 8 | 42 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | 1'45.508 | 0.401 | 0.038 |
| 9 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | Suzuki | 1'45.599 | 0.492 | 0.091 |
| 10 | 43 | Jack MILLER | Ducati | 1'45.688 | 0.581 | 0.089 |
| 11 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'45.742 | 0.635 | 0.054 |
| 12 | 21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Honda | 1'46.125 | 1.018 | 0.383 |
| 13 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'46.216 | 1.109 | 0.091 |
| 14 | 89 | Katsuyuki NAKASUGA | Yamaha | 1'46.341 | 1.234 | 0.125 |
| 15 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | 1'46.488 | 1.381 | 0.147 |
| 16 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 1'46.491 | 1.384 | 0.003 |
| 17 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | 1'46.518 | 1.411 | 0.027 |
| 18 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | 1'46.561 | 1.454 | 0.043 |
| 19 | 55 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Yamaha | 1'46.579 | 1.472 | 0.018 |
| 20 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | 1'46.608 | 1.501 | 0.029 |
| 21 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | 1'47.048 | 1.941 | 0.440 |
| 22 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'47.179 | 2.072 | 0.131 |
| 23 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1'47.387 | 2.280 | 0.208 |
| 24 | 81 | Jordi TORRES | Ducati | 1'47.542 | 2.435 | 0.155 |
| 25 | 50 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | 1'47.893 | 2.786 | 0.351 |
Comments
Nakasuga-san, respect to you
Nakasuga-san, respect to you following my several comments regarding the lacking of Japanese Superbike riders being able to get on pace to effectively develop a MotoGP bike. Keep up the great work. Flying to Italy some over Winter?
May we begin appreciating the Greatest TEAMMATE Of All Time, Dani Pedrosa? So much bridesmaid attention upon what is lacking in Dani having not gotten a title. With that 1st bar aside, can we go ahead and appreciate the achievements of the mighty mite?
And while we are at Motegi, I will resist excitement re 2017 P.I. --- how many times in a row can you watch a single race? What is the best race of the modern era?