Francesco Bagnaia topped a closely fought Saturday morning practice session at the Styrian Grand Prix as MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo left it late to secure his place in Q2.
Yamaha factory rider Quartararo has a 100% record of advancing directly into Q2 this season but a sluggish start to the 45-minute session and a late deletion of his best lap for track limits left him scrambling for a place in the top 10 in the final moments of the session.
Quartararo pulled it all together with less than a minute remaining, to move from outside the top 10 into second place.
He was just 0.028 slower than session-topper Bagnaia’s Ducati, while Maverick Vinales ensured there were two Yamahas in the top three.
Jorge Martin looks like he’ll be in the mix for his second MotoGP pole in his rookie season later today, he was fourth fastest in FP3 despite a late fall, ahead of Suzuki’s Joan Mir and his Pramac Ducati team-mate Johann Zarco.
A slightly embarrassing end to an impressive session for @88jorgemartin! 🤦♂️
#StyrianGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/lYgP2mqsnj— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 7, 2021
Six-time champion Marc Marquez was the fastest Honda in seventh place ahead of Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia and Ducati’s Jack Miller.
FP1 pacesetter Takaaki Nakagami took the final automatic Q2 place in 10th position. He was among the leading times early in the session, but slipped back as the 45-minute session progressed.
Just missing out on a direct place in Q2 was Marquez’s team-mate Pol Espargaro and MotoGP returnee and KTM’s test rider Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa was once again the quickest KTM rider in the session, ahead of his first race start in three years.
Suzuki’s Alex Rins and LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez couldn’t match the pace of their respective team-mates in 13th and 14th places.
Miguel Oliveira struggled for pace throughout the session after he missed the majority of Friday practice following his FP1 crash. The KTM rider will go into Q1 after setting the 16th fastest time, one place behind team-mate Brad Binder.
On the weekend he announced he’ll retire from MotoGP at the end of the season, seven-time champion Valentino Rossi was 19th while his new team-mate Cal Crutchlow, who is standing in for the injured Franco Morbidelli, was 23rd and slowest.
Luca Marini crashed in the final sector of the track in the dying moments of the session, grounding the VR46 supported Ducati to 21st place.
Practice 3 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1m23.114s | ||
| 2 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.028s | +0.028s | 1m23.142s |
| 3 | Maverick Viñales | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.12s | +0.148s | 1m23.262s |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.032s | +0.18s | 1m23.294s |
| 5 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.093s | +0.273s | 1m23.387s |
| 6 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.1s | +0.373s | 1m23.487s |
| 7 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.026s | +0.399s | 1m23.513s |
| 8 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.081s | +0.48s | 1m23.594s |
| 9 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.137s | +0.617s | 1m23.731s |
| 10 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.009s | +0.626s | 1m23.74s |
| 11 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.017s | +0.643s | 1m23.757s |
| 12 | Dani Pedrosa | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.001s | +0.644s | 1m23.758s |
| 13 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.008s | +0.652s | 1m23.766s |
| 14 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.023s | +0.675s | 1m23.789s |
| 15 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.01s | +0.685s | 1m23.799s |
| 16 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.136s | +0.821s | 1m23.935s |
| 17 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.224s | +1.045s | 1m24.159s |
| 18 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.183s | +1.228s | 1m24.342s |
| 19 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.039s | +1.267s | 1m24.381s |
| 20 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama Racing | Ducati | +0.003s | +1.27s | 1m24.384s |
| 21 | Luca Marini | SKY VR46 Avintia Team | Ducati | +0.019s | +1.289s | 1m24.403s |
| 22 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.034s | +1.323s | 1m24.437s |
| 23 | Cal Crutchlow | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.207s | +1.53s | 1m24.644s |
