Bezzecchi got in a 1:46.616, then Bagnaia a 1:46.471 and Di Giannantonio a 1:46.410 just before the chequered flag, although Zarco was not done yet. The Frenchman clocked a 1:46.383 to go to provisional pole, before it looked like being a VR46 one-two when Bezzecchi set a 1:46.244 and team-mate Luca Marini moved his time to a 1:46.327. The dream scenario did not quite come to pass when Di Giannantonio subsequently found even more time, but VR46 still has a double front row start in the hours after Valentino Rossi’s famous #46 was officially retired.
Miller is the master of mixed conditions and Marc Marquez decided to use ‘Thriller’ as his reference. For the last three laps in a row, the Australian went quickest, only to be beaten moments later by the Spaniard. That would have been fine for Miller except, a handful of seconds behind them on the race track, Di Giannantonio was bettering both. In the end, Gresini rider set a 1:47.219, the factory Honda rider a 1:47.294, and the works Ducati pilot a 1:47.621, while Binder ended up sixth in Q2 and hence 16th on the starting grid.
There are perhaps few circuits on the calendar where a tow is more important than Mugello, particularly in the lightweight class, and that was how John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) put himself in top spot in the early stages of Q2 with a 1:57.299. Foggia, on the other hand, was having to punch his own hole in the air, although he managed to go second-fastest in the last few minutes with a 1:57.367.
Flexbox HP40’s Aron Canet is the Moto2™ pace-setter after a dramatic FP3 at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, but some big names will have to go into Q1. Canet, who had been third-fastest in Friday practice at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, jumped to the top with a 1:51.761 late in the third session of the weekend. He finished just hundredths of a second ahead of the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo of Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez, who clocked a 1:51.820 and 1:51.828 respectively, while Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) took fourth on a 1:51.864.
It was a session that started badly but ended very well for the Italian
The Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia has set the fastest lap time in MotoGP™ FP3 at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, bouncing back from an early crash in emphatic fashion. The Italian blasted to a 1:45.393 with 10 minutes to go at a sunny Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, and enjoyed a margin of 0.276 seconds over the field once the session was done. Friday fast man Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) was next-best, booking his place in Q2, but eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) will be going into Q1.
The Italian manufacturers dominate FP3 – eventually
‘Pecco’ was certainly not the only Ducati rider who had a rough start to Saturday morning, with team-mate Jack Miller forced to hitch a ride back to the paddock after an early technical failure, Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) running off into the gravel at San Donato (Turn 1), and later Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) taking a tumble at Scarperia (Turn 10). By the time the music stopped, however, the top seven featured six of the nine Desmosedicis in the field, with one bike from fellow Italian manufacturer Aprilia among them.
Bagnaia had tucked the front and crashed at Correntaio (Turn 12) just over 10 minutes in, but that was only a temporary hindrance before he set the quickest time of the weekend so far. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) got as high as second on the timing screen with a 1:45.762, and was third all-told after Aleix Espargaro rode his RS-GP to a 1:45.669 in the final minutes. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) claimed fourth with a 1:45.767, ahead of Bezzecchi on a 1:45.853. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) took sixth on a 1:45.860, before a crash at Bucine (Turn 15) with the chequered flag out, while Martin dusted himself off after his spill to earn seventh with a 1:45.879.
Quartararo just gets into Q2
After seven Italian motorcycles came three from Japan. The Repsol Honda Team’s Pol Espargaro was eighth-quickest on a 1:45.880 and satellite counterpart Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) clocked a 1:45.999. World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo had a battle on his hands to secure an automatic Q2 berth, but the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) rider did just enough with a 1:46.032.
Marc Marquez does not get into Q2
With so many top 10 aspirants, clearly some were going to be disappointed, and the biggest disappointment might have been felt by Marc Marquez. The Spaniard was a full 1.184 seconds off the pace set by Bagnaia, and 0.545 seconds slower than the lap time which Quartararo set to get into Q2. Both of the Team Suzuki Ecstar entries will be going into Q1, with Alex Rins 12th in FP3 and Joan Mir 16th, while Miller was arguably the biggest surprise of the three Ducati riders who failed to get into the top 10. He headed back out on his second bike after having to park his first, but the Ducati Lenovo Team pilot could only improve to a 1:46.169 which left the Australian 15th.
Darryn Binder (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team) is under investigation by stewards after he also crashed at Bucine where Bastianini had gone down shortly prior. The South African is 25th on the combined timesheet after FP3.
The MotoGP™ action resumes when FP4 gets underway later on Saturday at 13:30 (GMT +2).
MotoGP™ Top 10: 1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1:45.393 2. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 0.276 3. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.369 4. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.374 5. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.460 6. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.467 7. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.486 8. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.487 9. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) + 0.606 10. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.639
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With the rain holding off for now, there was plenty of the usual movement on the timing screen right at the very end of proceedings. Three other riders got into the 1:56s, all with their final lap of the session, those being Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on a 1:56.793, Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) with a 1:56.902 which rescued a berth in Q2, and World Championship leader Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) on a 1:56.966. The rest of the top 10 was Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI), Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team), Riccardo Rossi (Sic58 Squadra Corse), Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max), and Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing).
Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), are the subject of talks with the house of orange about saddling up on an RC16 in the 2023 MotoGP™ season. However, with Brad Binder already contracted until the end of 2024, there are as many as four riders, Oliveira included, who have their eyes on the other, as yet unspoken for seat at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
Aegerter was not willing to settle, either, clocking a 1:59.205 next time around which moved him to 0.268 seconds clear of Zannoni. Beyond that, the margins were close, with Casadei 0.062 seconds away from second place, and Eric Granado (LCTR E-Team) missing the front row by only 0.002 seconds. A winner of both races at Jerez just a few weeks ago, Granado is set to line up in fourth for the two Mugello encounters, with Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) fifth and Q1 graduate Kevin Manfredi (Octo Pramac MotoE™) sixth.
However, the Indonesian GP winner would set the very fastest lap of FP2, a 1:52.350 which puts him fourth overall. World Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 racing Team) is also into Q2 for now, with the 12th-fastest time of the day, and fellow heavy-hitter Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) is three positions better off on the timesheet. However, Chantra’s Idemitsu Honda Team Asia team-mate Ai Ogura is on the outside looking in, with P17 against his name.
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