Aprilia’s Espargaro tops Valencia FP3, big crash for brother Pol

Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro was quickest in the third MotoGP practice session at Valencia, as his brother Pol suffered a violent crash.

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Key moments:

> Pol Espargaro banged up after big highside

> Brother Aleix pips Miller to top spot

> Friday struggler Quartararo sneaks into Q2

> As does retiring Rossi

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Joan Mir was the first rider to dip below the Friday benchmark with just over 10 minutes left in FP3, but his laptime was left in doubt due to yellow flags for the younger Espargaro’s painful fall.

The Honda man suffered a brutal-looking highside through the sweeping Turn 13 left-hander, with his RC213V left in pieces and Espargaro himself struggling to get up from the gravel after hitting the ground with his back – and ultimately having to be taken away on a stretcher.

High speed crash for @polespargaro at Turn 13 😲

Thankfully the Spaniard is conscious 💢#ValenciaGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/GBSHayvrdT

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 13, 2021

MotoGP subsequently confirmed that he was taken to the medical centre for a check-up.

The yellow flags cleared next time around for Mir and he immediately improved to a 1m30.876s, making any lap deletion concerns irrelevant – albeit with Friday pace-setter Jack Miller then instantly finding an extra three tenths.

But the elder Espargaro – who was shown wincing at the post-crash footage of his brother in pain – went slightly quicker with a minute left to go, securing the top spot for Aprilia.

Yamaha factory rider Franco Morbidelli completed the top three behind Espargaro and Miller, while Francesco Bagnaia and Pramac’s Jorge Martin made it three Ducatis in the top five.

Mir and Takaaki Nakagami were sixth and seventh, the sole Suzuki and the sole Honda making it into Q2 automatically, followed closely by Martin’s team-mate Johann Zarco and 2020 champion Fabio Quartararo, making a slight improvement compared to a torrid Friday.

The retiring Valentino Rossi also sneaked through to Q2, narrowly outpacing the likes Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Brad Binder (KTM) with the help of a tow from his protege Bagnaia.

That's what friends are for! 👊😎#GrazieVale #ValenciaGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/yMgP92aJzT

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 13, 2021

Maverick Vinales, the Aprilia team-mate of session-topper Espargaro, was just four tenths off on his fastest lap – but that wouldn’t have been enough for Q2, and that lap would anyway be deleted due to yellow flags for an Iker Lecuona crash at Turn 2.

Practice 3 Results