Quartararo tops Portimao FP3, Marquez and Mir to Q1

Fabio Quartararo set the pace in the third MotoGP practice session at Portimao, as reigning champion Joan Mir and the returning Marc Marquez headed to Q1.

The late-session dash for automatic Q2 spots was interrupted by a violent, bike-shredding crash Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin, who was left hunched over on his elbows and knees in the gravel at the Turn 7 right-hander.

With Martin in clear strife and unable to lead the site of the crash, race direction brought out the red flags with four minutes left on the clock so that the Doha GP star could be attended to.

Remaining conscious, Martin was stretchered away and taken to the medical centre, with the session then resuming just over 10 minutes after the stoppage.

And once it resumed, every rider besides Martin and Takaaki Nakagami headed out of the pitlane, with most of them forming a tight pack.

We're back underway! 🚥

A four minute dash for a Q2 place coming up! 💨#PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/3yOvOBvwlk

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 17, 2021

Quartararo was alone in hanging back, and though he couldn’t improve, his earlier effort of 1m39.044s was enough to leave him top of the session anyway.

The same was true for his former Petronas Yamaha team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who was 0.051s off Quartararo’s pace.

Friday pace-setter Francesco Bagnaia moved up to third at the chequered flag, while fellow Ducati rider Johann Zarco moved up from 14th to fourth, the Pramac-run championship leader securing a last-gasp Q2 berth.

Also joining Q2 will be Alex Rins (Suzuki), Jack Miller (Ducati), star rookie Luca Marini (Avintia Ducati), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), 2020 Portuguese GP winner Miguel Oliveira (KTM) and Maverick Vinales (Yamaha).

Vinales was another rider who booked a spot at Q2 at the very last moment, doing so at the expense of LCR Honda rider Alex Marquez, who had yet another crash.

Another dramatic crash in the closing stages! 👀@alexmarquez73 high-sides at Turn 3, although he has since returned to the pits! 💢#PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/cACyP8YHEA

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 17, 2021

The younger Marquez had a big last-minute highside at Turn 3 and did so right in front of his returning brother Marc Marquez, who was ultimately only 15th.

Reigning champion Mir came up seven hundredths short of a Q2 spot, and is set to battle the Marquez brothers, Valentino Rossi and many other riders to advance from Q1 directly later today.

LCR Honda rider Nakagami was forced to take a mid-session break for pain treatment, having hurt his right wrist and collarbone in a big Friday practice crash.

Nakagami had a run-in with Morbidelli during the FP3 session – the pair gesticulating at each other after Morbidelli was impeded by Nakagami a flying lap and his rear tyre clipped Nakagami’s front – before retreating into his pit garage, where he was visited by doctors.

And with painkillers not doing the job, Nakagami had to visit the medical centre for a pain injection, before returning briefly but electing to sit out the last-minute dash.

Practice 3 Results