Miller leads Espargaro in third Silverstone MotoGP practice

Ducati rider Jack Miller topped the third MotoGP practice of the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone, with Johann Zarco and Alex Rins among those resigned to contesting Q1.

Miller surpassed Fabio Quartararo’s standout Friday time with 11 minutes left on the clock in FP3, with Quartararo himself unable to respond despite running a pair of fresh softs.

The Frenchman mounted another attempt to dethrone Miller at the end, but a last-gasp improvement was thwarted, seemingly by yellow flags for a fast Pol Espargaro crash at Stowe.

Miller topped the session by a tenth over Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro, with Jorge Martin a close third for Pramac Ducati and Quartararo, his ankle taped over after yesterday’s crash, settling for fourth – having failed to improve on his Friday effort.

Francesco Bagnaia joined his factory team-mate Miller in the top five, with Pol Espargaro advancing to Q2 on the same time despite the crash.

Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha), a resurgent Joan Mir (Suzuki), Brad Binder (KTM) and Marc Marquez (Honda) grabbed the final automatic Q2 spots.

Pramac Ducati rider Zarco came up half a tenth short of denying Marquez a place in the top 10, while factory Yamaha stand-in Cal Crutchlow also looked in with a Q2 chance, only to end up 13th, sandwiched between the two LCR Hondas.

That's @Rins42 Q2 challenge over! 🛑

The most recent winner here will go through Q1 later on! 👀#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/FvnslhQxcs

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 28, 2021

A late crash for Rins at the Farm corner cost him any chance to book a spot directly in Q2, while also compromising fast laps for a number of other riders by virtue of bringing out yellow flags.

There were also yellow flags for a late mechanical failure for Tech3 KTM rider Danilo Petrucci.

A late mechanical for @Petrux9 puts a half to any more improvements! 💨#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/urB6TogGPi

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 28, 2021

Debutant Jake Dixon was 21 st and last in the session, having had an early crash at Brooklands and finishing 3.5s off the pace.

💥 @jakedixonracing's first #MotoGP crash!

That's one unfortunate box checked off the list! Rider OK 👍#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/FcJNUp7O2t

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 28, 2021

Aprilia is down to one rider for the remainder of the weekend, with Lorenzo Savadori having elected to pull out after struggling with pain from an ankle fracture during Friday running.

Practice 3 Results