Jose Antonio Rueda got the better of David Alonso on the third and final day of pre-season testing ahead of the 2024 Moto3 World Championship season in Jerez.

The Spaniard - who like Alonso will begin his second season in the quarter-litre category this year - set the pace with a 1m 43.276s lap on the Red Bull KTM Ajo machine, usurping his Colombian rival's day two benchmark by almost a tenth.

Rueda's efforts broke a streak of rapid timesheet topping laps from Alonso, both last week in Portimao and during this week's Jerez outing, pace that has emphasised the CFMoto Aspar Team rider's status as 2024 Moto3 title favourite.

The sophomore pair enjoyed a comfortable margin back to the 'best of the rest', headed up in third and fourth by MT Helmets-MSI's fresh pairing Ivan Ortola and new team-mate Ryusei Yamanaka.

Collin Veijer - another title tip following a run of strong results towards the end of his rookie campaign in 2015 - ended his week in fifth, heading up Daniel Holgado - whose Tech3 Racing team will swap to GasGas branding to reflect its MotoGP effort - in sixth and Stefano Nepa (LevelUp-MTA) in seventh.

Best of the rookie contingent was Luca Lunetta in eighth for SIC 58 Squadra Corse with Aussie Jacob Roulstone 11th and Joel Esteban in 18th.

MLav Racing's British pairing, meanwhile, endured mixed fortunes with Scott Ogden just outside of the top ten in 12th but there was frustration for Josh Whatley, who picked up a hand injury early on in the week, benching him for the remainder of the test.

He is expected to be fit in time for the opening round in Qatar, which takes place on 8-10 March

🇪🇦 ⏱️ 2024 Moto3 Official Pre-Season Testing Results, Jerez | Combined Results [FINAL]