Jack Miller is quickest in a super-tight, all-Ducati top five after MotoGP™ FP3 at the Gran Premio Animoca Brands de Aragon. Miller set the pace with a 1:46.992 and fellow Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia was only 0.030 seconds slower on his personal best lap. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) rounded out the top five, with the former two combining to knock Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro out of the top 10 at the end of the session. Espargaro will form part of an all-star Q1 later today at Motorland Aragon which will also include the Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez.

Martin had been fastest at the end of Friday on a 1:47.402 and he came tantalisingly close to improving when he checked in with a 1:47.403 just inside the final quarter-hour of FP3. However, it was Miller who finally shifted the benchmark when he rode his Desmosedici to a 1:46.992 with new soft Michelin slicks on the front and rear. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) then had turns in second position before Bagnaia made his place in Q2 safe with a 1:47.022 after the chequered flag had come out.

Bezzecchi and Bastianini left it even later than Bagnaia had, setting a 1:47.048 and a 1:47.057 respectively. While those efforts pushed Martin all the way back to fifth – even if he was only 0.090 seconds slower than Miller! – the bigger story was the #41 Aprilia. Espargaro had crashed in each of the Friday sessions and while they seemed like minor mishaps, the Argentina GP winner was having a struggle to decisively clinch a place in the top 10. Once Bezzecchi and Bastianini broke into the top 10, the Spaniard was out, finishing the session classified 11th on a 1:47.321.

There was better news for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, which got both of its riders into the Q2 shootout – Binder finished sixth on a 1:47.167 and Miguel Oliveira claimed seventh on a 1:47.224. Also into the top 10 were Quartararo, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) – at only 0.280 seconds off the pace – despite the latter’s late crash at Turn 5.

Speaking of crashes, Marc Marquez saved one in sensation fashion when he skated through Turn 17 on his left elbow during his first run. While the eight-time World Champion was delighting the fans again, he would hit the deck on his second run with a front-end lose at Turn 7. Fortunately, the Spaniard was immediately jogging away from the scene to hitch a scooter ride back to the pits. Marquez could not get back into the top 10, finishing 12th on a 1:47.429, but don’t bet against him making it into Q2 via the long route this afternoon. Others to watch in Q1 include Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).

Before then, riders get to tune up their race packages in FP4 – tune in from 13:30 (GMT +2)!

MotoGP™ Top 10:
1. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1:46.992
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.030
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.056
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.065
5. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.090
6. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.175
7. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.232
8. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.266
9. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) + 0.274
10. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.280