Andrea Migno stormed the Moto3 FP3 standings with a last-second challenge of 1’26.317 this morning, to deny efforts from Stefano Nepa and Kaito Toba.
Friday hero John McPhee completed his morning’s work in eighth overall confirming his direct entry into the afternoon’s qualifying battle, his teammate Darryn Binder, however, was left facing the Q1 fight.
A hot and sticky night in Saxony gave way to an already blistering Saturday with temperatures hitting 28℃ as the Moto3 riders prepared for their early morning session.
McPhee’s 1’26.739 from Friday’s FP1 led the combined times as the final practice began with Jaume Masia’s 1’27.782 the initial gateway into the top-14.
Tatsuki Suzuki took charge as the early laps began to register, Deniz Öncü, Migno and Masia joining him at the top of the session times as the pace picked up. McPhee returned to the top with his fourth lap, a 1’27.515, Gabriel Rodrigo finding the gravel at turn three after a massive highside halted his run.
Dennis Foggia was the next to challenge as he hit the front with a ’27.3, Darryn Binder joining his teammate in the top-three two laps later. Öncü, Suzuki and Migno sat best of the rest with Niccolò Antonelli, Masia, Xavier Artigas and Pedro Acosta rounding out the top-10.
The mid-session lull saw the pack in the pits before McPhee once again set the precedent as the first rider back out on track. Foggia and Antonelli the only riders in the top-14 to have so far improved on their Friday efforts with Acosta topping the session - and rising to third overall - as the action fired back up.
The intensity was building as Toba and Suzuki were on a charge, taking control of both the session and the combined times with the first and second fastest times of the weekend respectively - 1’26.459 now the target to beat. The times began to tumble as the clock hit 13-minutes to go. Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara headed Acosta in the top-five with Filip Salac, Masia, Lorenzo Fellon, Migno and Foggia holding sixth through 10th.
The final five minute wait began as the pitlane players eyed each other, Öncü as ever, the first to strike as he headed out on track alone with the rest eating for the all-important, yet still contentious, slipstream advantage.
Adrian Fernandez became the first casualty of the hot-laps with a crash at turn three, Romano Fenati the first to land a time, as he found ninth.
The standings began to shuffle as the flag prepared to fly, Migno taking the lead from Nepa, Toba, Masia and Suzuki. Salac, Fellon and Foggia headed McPhee in the top-nine with Garcia, Fenati, Guevara, Artigas and Acosta claiming the final Q2 promotion places - Rodrigo concluding the session 18th overall after his early highside dispatched him to the medical centre.
Post session corrections saw Masia’s time deleted with the KTM rider dropped to 15th, Antonelli the recipient of the late promotion.
