Quartararo tops MotoGP Jerez third practice

Petronas Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo topped the third practice session for MotoGP’s opening race of 2020 at Jerez.

Quartararo had entered the day outside the combined top 10, but rectified this with a 1m36.806s that now stands as the fastest MotoGP race weekend lap in the history of the circuit, surpassing the effort that had made Quartararo the premier class’ youngest-ever poleman last year.

Suzuki rider Alex Rins set the initial pace in the session with a 1m37.476s using soft fronts and soft rears, with Pramac Ducati’s Jack Miller using the same compounds to lower the session benchmark by a tenth.

This was still a quarter of a tenth short of what Marquez had managed to go quickest on Friday, and it was only around the halfway point of FP3 when that effort was finally surpassed, courtesy of Rins’ team-mate Joan Mir.

Yet Quartararo, equipped with a hard front and soft rear, went immediately faster than the Suzuki rider, and then pumped in MotoGP’s new best-ever race weekend lap of Jerez on his following attempt, which took him half a second clear of the pack.

Cal Crutchlow moved up to within three-tenths of Quartararo with 10 minutes left on the clock, and Marquez then took over in second a few minutes later, lapping 0.223s slower than Quartararo.

His second push lap looked closer to Quartararo’s pace but came undone in the final sector, and he slipped behind Miller and Mir, who wound up half a tenth and a tenth behind Quartararo respectively.

Maverick Vinales was the best of the factory Yamahas in fifth, but Valentino Rossi also made the combined top 10 in eighth, having recovered from a miserable showing on Friday.

The pair were split in the FP3 classification by Crutchlow and Quartararo’s team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who had set the pace in second practice.

Francesco Bagnaia made it two Pramac Ducati bikes in Q2 in ninth, while works counterpart Andrea Dovizioso also secured an automatic Q2 bye, demoting KTM’s Pol Espargaro from 10th place at the last second.

KTM had entered the day with three riders within the combined top 10, but Espargaro, rookie team-mate Brad Binder and Tech 3’s Iker Lecuona – who crashed in the final moments of the session – have all been consigned to contesting Q1.

The same fate befell Dovizioso’s team-mate Danilo Petrucci and Suzuki rider Rins, who was incensed with Marquez after appearing to be balked by the reigning champion on a crucial fast lap.

Practice 3 Results