Ducati factory rider Francesco Bagnaia set a new MotoGP lap record of Mugello as he topped the third practice session ahead of the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
Bagnaia led his title rival Fabio Quartararo by 0.157s, the pair split by one point at the top of the MotoGP championship standings.
For the first half hour in FP3, the top spot in the combined practice classification still belonged to Bagnaia’s Friday-topping effort – with only the customary late qualifying simulations getting him dethroned.
Quartararo was the culprit, producing the first sub-1m46s lap of the weekend on his first proper attempt with a fresh soft rear and them improving by a tenth with his follow-up effort to get to a 1m45.701s.
He found another tenth a few minutes later, but Bagnaia then struck back with a 1m45.465s, going a few hundredths better than Marc Marquez’s previous Mugello record from qualifying back in 2019.
Brad Binder on the much-improved KTM completed the top three, just two tenths off Bagnaia, while Bagnaia’s works team-mate Jack Miller made up the top four.
Late improvements from Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) and Alex Rins (Suzuki) elevated them into the top six.
Miguel Oliveira will join works team-mate Binder in Q2, making it the first time this season that two KTM riders will participate in the pole shoot-out.
Suzuki’s reigning champion Joan Mir, Honda’s Pol Espargaro and Petronas Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli – despite dealing with a huge top-speed deficit – completed the top 10 and will all head into Q2.
The Bologna Bullets respond! 🚀@PeccoBagnaia breaks the all-time lap record as Maverick Viñales goes down! 😲#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/PEP7qwg8fl
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 29, 2021
A rare crash for Quartararo’s team-mate Maverick Vinales will translate into a rare Q1 appearance, as the Spaniard fell at Correntaio late on and missed the Q2 cut by 0.030s.
Marquez followed Rins on his final flyer, but was in the end a tenth down on Vinales in 12th.
Practice 3 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1m45.456s | ||
| 2 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.157s | +0.157s | 1m45.613s |
| 3 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.039s | +0.196s | 1m45.652s |
| 4 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.049s | +0.245s | 1m45.701s |
| 5 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.024s | +0.269s | 1m45.725s |
| 6 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.029s | +0.298s | 1m45.754s |
| 7 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.037s | +0.335s | 1m45.791s |
| 8 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.034s | +0.369s | 1m45.825s |
| 9 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.033s | +0.402s | 1m45.858s |
| 10 | Franco Morbidelli | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.007s | +0.409s | 1m45.865s |
| 11 | Maverick Viñales | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.03s | +0.439s | 1m45.895s |
| 12 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.118s | +0.557s | 1m46.013s |
| 13 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.002s | +0.559s | 1m46.015s |
| 14 | Michele Pirro | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.088s | +0.647s | 1m46.103s |
| 15 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.208s | +0.855s | 1m46.311s |
| 16 | Luca Marini | SKY VR46 Avintia Team | Ducati | +0.021s | +0.876s | 1m46.332s |
| 17 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.023s | +0.899s | 1m46.355s |
| 18 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.003s | +0.902s | 1m46.358s |
| 19 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.089s | +0.991s | 1m46.447s |
| 20 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama Racing | Ducati | +0.18s | +1.171s | 1m46.627s |
| 21 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.226s | +1.397s | 1m46.853s |
| 22 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.394s | +1.791s | 1m47.247s |
