Joe Roberts easily commanded the final practice session at Le Mans this morning, to head the combined times with an impressive 1’36.490 beating Marco Bezzecchi and Augusto Fernandez despite last-lap crashes that saw both the top-two in the gravel at the flag.
Sam Lowes closely followed his teammate into Q2 qualification in fourth, with Jake Dixon also sailing through in seventh.
Buoyed by his dominant performance on Friday, Dixon was straight out on track as FP3 began and eager to continue his impressive form. Sitting second after the first set of hot laps registered, just 0.03 behind SKY racing’s Bezzecchi before a flyer from Roberts put the American in charge, Dixon was determined not to be outdone, returning to the top as his pace closed in on yesterday’s best after only his fourth lap and continuing to battle with the number 16. With five laps dispatched, Lowes joined the fight at the front, bettering his countryman before Remy Gardner and Bezzecchi made equally impressive moves, none of the challengers, however, yet able to match Roberts’ high 1’36 pace.
A turn eight crash after just 15 minutes of action saw Jorge Martin’s progression halted prematurely, the Spaniard running eighth at the time, while the field around continued to improve. Jorge Navarro briefly took control of the mid-session proceedings ahead of Roberts and the rapidly advancing British pair before the American, refusing to be outmatched, returned to the top yet again and continued to chip away at his pace.
The final 10 minutes saw the field return in anger, new rubber installed and Q2 in their sights. Thomas Luthi, Marcel Schrotter and Enea Bastianini all suffering in the session so far and well adrift of the necessary time, with Lorenzo Baldassari sat on the cusp of qualification on 14th. Late crashes for Bastianini and Schrotter brought further disappointment, the two usual big hitters having to settle for an early bath.
With the rumour mill in full flow as far as Luca Marini’s 2021 future is concerned - his GP aspirations potentially coming earlier than expected - the battered Italian got off to a tentative start at the Bugatti Circuit after yesterday’s violent highside, running consistently on the edge of the top-20 and over a second off the pace. Digging deep in the closing stages the VR46 man advanced to 12th before pushing further to take ninth on his 20th lap of the day.
Back at the top it was teammate Bezzecchi who now impressed, shaving almost three tenths off Roberts time to head the standings, Lowes and Dixon still running quickly in fourth and sixth as Roberts again showed his prowess at the French track, hitting the top with a 1’36.490 before hitting the deck on his final revolution.
As the flag dropped, so did Bezzecchi - at turn 13 - but the hard work had already been done. The Italian claimed second from a late-charging Fernadez, his Marc VDS teammate holding fourth from Gardner and Navarro. Dixon settled for seventh ahead of Stefano Manzi and hard-as-nails Marini with Marcos Ramirez rounding out the top-10.
Hector Garzo, Simone Corsi, Martin and Xavi Vierge claimed the final Q2 spots with Tetsuta Nagashima just missing out on automatic qualification. Nicolò Bulega, Aron Canet and Baldassari joining him in this afternoon’s Q1 battle.
