Scotland’s John McPhee kicked off Saturday morning Moto3 action at Misano in fine style, topping the times in the final free practice with a 1’42.415, easily securing promotion into this afternoon’s final qualification, ahead of Celestino Vietti and Albert Arenas.
Having concluded Friday practice at the top of the times, Raul Fernandez initially cemented his dominant performance on the Red Bull KTM Ajo from the outset of Saturday’s session before Petronas SRT’s McPhee rose to the challenge on his sixth lap with a 1’42.912, the only rider to have improved on the opening day’s times by the mid point of the session.
After a slow start to the morning, the times finally began to move as the SKY Racing Team VR46 duo of Vietti and Andrea Migno both improved to hold the session’s top two spots, before Vietti immediately succumbed to turn two.
With new tyres in play for the closing seven minutes, the action finally looked like getting serious. McPhee holding court on his tenth lap before the times threatened to tumble. A second trip to the gravel at La Quercia for Vietti in the closing minutes, however, brought out the yellow flags, impeding on any prominent fast laps.
Championship leader, Arenas, had patiently circulated within the top ten for the early part of the session before reaffirming his dominant form in the top three with his first flying lap, the yellow flags’ abrupt conclusion to the session preventing any further improvement, as yesterday’s hero, Fernandez, also had to settle for his early best, securing fourth, with Kömmerling Gresini’s Gabriel Rodrigo in fifth.
With 0.6 seconds separating the entire top 14, Jaume Masia and Filip Salac secured the final automatic promotion spots to Q2, with Tony Arbolino the biggest loser as the Italian failed to make the cut.
