Petronas’ Franky Morbidelli mastered his two-year-old M1 in style on Saturday morning, setting the fastest time around Barcelona in MotoGP FP3.
Fabio Quartararo joined the Yamaha celebrations in second with KTM’s Miguel Oliveira proving the new chassis’ success in third, as Valentino Rossi secured his first promotion to Q2 since the opening round at Qatar.
Iker Lecuona led a KTM train as MotoGP hit the Barcelona track for FP3, Oliveira and Brad Binder joining the youngster at the top of the times before the Portuguese rider took over - with a time good enough from fourth overall - and the second Tech3 joined them in the top-five.
Maverick Viñales, Pecco Bagnaia and Rossi demoted Lecuona as the big hitters made their presence known with Binder and Morbidelli joining the party on their next laps. With 10-minutes gone, Oliveira remained in control from Viñales, Morbidelli, Bagnaia and Binder with Johann Zarco heading Lecuona and Rossi in the top-eighth. Jack Miller sat ninth from Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro with Marc Marquez circulating in 12th as Saturday morning unfolded.
A fast crash at turn five left Enea Bastianini’s Avintia barrel-rolling through the gravel with the Italian okay and, so far, still inside the Q2 promotion zone thanks to Friday.
Joan Mir entered the top-10 with his seventh lap, but the time was still outside the 1’39.983 benchmark for promotion until he tried again, securing third in the session and sixth overall with his next effort, two-tenths clear.
Takaaki Nakagami swept through to second with 17-minutes left on the clock, the LCR man’s lap strong enough for fifth in the combined times with just four riders so far improving on their FP2 efforts.
Quartararo came out fighting for the first time-attack of the morning, hitting P1 with a 1’39.168 before advancing the pace again on his second attempt as he slid into the 1’38’s. Oliveira was the next to challenge, looking to consolidate his second position with a personal best before losing out in the final sector.
Luca Marini improved his morning by joining the top-10 battle with his 15th lap, however his 1’40.075 time was not good enough to boost him into Q2 overall.
The closing 10-minutes saw the majority of the pack return to the pits ahead of the final push, Morbidelli remaining out on track as he charged into second, his time quickly deleted due to track limits but bringing Rossi with him, and up to ninth in the process. The Petronas pair returning to the garage shortly after.
A determined Viñales was on the move as he advanced his M1 to second, three-tenths off his teammate and fourth overall, as Yamaha controlled three of the top-four positions with five-minutes left to run.
Quartararo, Rossi and Miller were the only riders on track using soft front Michelin’s as the rest opted for medium. Mir hit the mark as he navigated his Suzuki into second just as Lorenzo Savadori hit the deck at turn ?? Morbidelli was the net to strike, stealing second from the reigning word champion, with Zarco’s Friday time still holding the spot overall from the advancing hoards.
Oliveira was the first to outdo the Frenchman as his 1’39.051 took second, his KTM teammate joining him in third moments later before Morbidelli shone brightly once again. The Petronas rider took the session and the standings with a blistering 1’38.929 while further delight for the team and Rossi fans saw the Doctor secured his Q2 promotion with a 1’39.426 on his final effort.
Quartararo sat second from Oliveira and a late-charging Bagnaia with Espargaro pushing his Aprilia into Q2 once again. Binder claimed sixth from Viñales, Mir and Rossi with Miller facing a Q1 battle despite taking 10th in the session - Zarco’s Friday time securing his promotion despite completing the morning in 15th.
