2021 Valencia MotoGP FP3 Result: An Espargaro Rollercoaster

Submitted by Zara Daniela on Sat, 2021-11-13 10:05

A sunny albeit still chilly Valencia set up the scene for the premier class fight for Q2 places and there were quite a few stories to tell. The first was about Aprilia working some magic overnight and allowing Aleix Espargaro to grab the FP3 headlines, the Spaniard starting and ending the session in the lead. Having been fast from the start on Friday, the Ducatis were in no rush early on, but Jack Miller reclaimed second in the final attack, with Pecco Bagnaia also securing fourth. Although still struggling a bit more, Yamaha had some good news come their way too, Franco Morbidelli progressing to third in the closing stages of FP3, ahead of Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. Joan Mir was the lead Suzuki in sixth place and only two tenths off the lead.

Luck seemed to have run out by the time it got to the Repsol Honda garage, their sole rider this weekend suffering a pretty vicious high-side at turn 13 and getting stretchered off to the medical centre. In his absence, Takaaki Nakagami flew the flag for Honda in 7th place, while Pol Espargaro dropped down the combined timesheets to 13th but his participation in the rest of the weekend seems uncertain at this point. In happier camps, Johann Zarco added a fourth Ducati to Q2 with 8th place.

Fabio Quartararo did not seem all that happy throughout the session but did manage to hang onto 9th position, while the final top 10 place was a feel-good story for the predominantly yellow stands, Valentino Rossi joining Q2 for one final time. Alex Rins and Brad Binder did their best to prevent that but came half a tenth short and will join the Q1 line-up, despite being only three tenths off top spot. Binder was the lead KTM in 12th place, ahead of Iker Lecuona, who ended the session with a crash at turn 2. Enea Bastianini closed the combined timesheets but was only 8 tenths off the lead.

Results:

Pos	No.	Rider	Bike	Time	Diff	Prev
1	41	Aleix Espargaro	Aprilia	1'30.529
2	43	Jack Miller	Ducati	1'30.547	0.018	0.018
3	21	Franco Morbidelli	Yamaha	1'30.614	0.085	0.067
4	63	Francesco Bagnaia	Ducati	1'30.652	0.123	0.038
5	89	Jorge Martin	Ducati	1'30.714	0.185	0.062
6	36	Joan Mir	Suzuki	1'30.762	0.233	0.048
7	30	Takaaki Nakagami	Honda	1'30.777	0.248	0.015
8	5	Johann Zarco	Ducati	1'30.786	0.257	0.009
9	20	Fabio Quartararo	Yamaha	1'30.791	0.262	0.005
10	46	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	1'30.825	0.296	0.034
11	42	Alex Rins	Suzuki	1'30.866	0.337	0.041
12	33	Brad Binder	KTM	1'30.893	0.364	0.027
13	27	Iker Lecuona	KTM	1'31.112	0.583	0.219
14	10	Luca Marini	Ducati	1'31.135	0.606	0.023
15	73	Alex Marquez	Honda	1'31.152	0.623	0.017
16	9	Danilo Petrucci	KTM	1'31.217	0.688	0.065
17	12	Maverick Viñales	Aprilia	1'31.239	0.710	0.022
18	4	Andrea Dovizioso	Yamaha	1'31.377	0.848	0.138
19	88	Miguel Oliveira	KTM	1'31.388	0.859	0.011
20	23	Enea Bastianini	Ducati	1'31.389	0.860	0.001
21	44	Pol Espargaro	Honda	1'31.495	0.966	0.106