The lead in the practice standings changed hands during FP3 but Jack Miller kept it in the family – the Ducati family – by posting the first 1:46 time of the weekend in the final dozen minutes of the session. Late yellow flags meant that rivals had little time to dispute that, although Pecco Bagnaia managed to sneak through and climb up to second to join his teammate at the front. Marco Bezzecchi was the early leader of the session and eventually was happy enough with third, only five hundredths of a second off top spot and nine thousandths ahead of Enea Bastianini. The Gresini rider spent most of the session out of the limelight but a fast final lap promoted him to fourth. Friday’s leader, Jorge Martin, rounded out an all-Ducati top five, less than a tenth of a second off his leading colleague.
Brad Binder was the first to break the Ducati stronghold, the KTMs surprising with their speed on Saturday morning, Binder in sixth, half a tenth ahead of Miguel Oliveira, despite a late tumble at turn two for the South African. Fabio Quartararo was a more subdued eighth position, with Takaaki Nakagami as the sole Honda in the top 10. Alex Rins added a Ducati to the mix and held onto a Q2 position in spite of a last minute crash.
That brings us to a pretty illustrious line-up in Q1. Aleix Espargaro found himself out of the top 10 in the final couple of minutes of the session and ran wide on his last flying lap, joining Q1 despite being only three tenths of a second off top spot. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez got the big save and the big tumble out of the way early on but did not seem to enjoy the more experimental second machine for the time attack. Although he found some time on the final lap, it was a far from perfect lap and only good enough for 12th position. The two Spaniards will have a challenge on their hands from the likes of Johann Zarco, Maverick Viñales and Joan Mir – the former world champion 19th in the combined standings despite being only seven tenths off top spot, almost the entire field covered by one second.
Results:
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
1 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1:46.992 | ||
2 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 1:47.022 | 0.030 | 0.030 |
3 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Ducati | 1:47.048 | 0.056 | 0.026 |
4 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Ducati | 1:47.057 | 0.065 | 0.009 |
5 | 89 | Jorge Martin | Ducati | 1:47.082 | 0.090 | 0.025 |
6 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM | 1:47.167 | 0.175 | 0.085 |
7 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM | 1:47.224 | 0.232 | 0.057 |
8 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 1:47.258 | 0.266 | 0.034 |
9 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda | 1:47.266 | 0.274 | 0.008 |
10 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1:47.272 | 0.280 | 0.006 |
11 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1:47.321 | 0.329 | 0.049 |
12 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1:47.429 | 0.437 | 0.108 |
13 | 10 | Luca Marini | Ducati | 1:47.437 | 0.445 | 0.008 |
14 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Ducati | 1:47.455 | 0.463 | 0.018 |
15 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati | 1:47.478 | 0.486 | 0.023 |
16 | 73 | Alex Marquez | Honda | 1:47.622 | 0.630 | 0.144 |
17 | 87 | Remy Gardner | KTM | 1:47.718 | 0.726 | 0.096 |
18 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | 1:47.763 | 0.771 | 0.045 |
19 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia | 1:47.786 | 0.794 | 0.023 |
20 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha | 1:47.812 | 0.820 | 0.026 |
21 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Yamaha | 1:47.953 | 0.961 | 0.141 |
22 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | Honda | 1:47.981 | 0.989 | 0.028 |
23 | 40 | Darryn Binder | Yamaha | 1:48.203 | 1.211 | 0.222 |
24 | 25 | Raul Fernandez | KTM | 1:48.642 | 1.650 | 0.439 |
Comments
Viva Miller!
Bloody beaut Mate Viva Miller!
Mid field Marc Marquez? He must be saving himself for the race.
Blooming bonza Remy Gardner! nine tenths quicker than Raul...
What Motoshrink said.