Aleix Espargaro claimed a dramatic Valencia FP3 on Saturday as the Aprilia bettered Jack Miller and Franky Morbidelli at the top.
The intense battle saw the top 10 riders split by just 0.296s as Valentino Rossi secured his way into the final pole shootout of his 26-year career.
Pol Espargaro was back at the front as FP3 fired up on Saturday morning. The Repsol Honda rider pursued by Joan Mir and his elder brother with Valentino Rossi running top five in the opening four laps.
Aleix Espargaro headed the session with a 1’31.544 on his fifth lap, the Aprilia the first to improve on his Friday efforts as he sat ninth in the combined times after just 10 minutes of free practice action. Takaaki Nakagami was the next to challenge, circulating nine-hundredths down on the Catalan, with Mir a further tenth back, in third. Jorge Martin, Alex Marquez and Jack Miller claimed the top six in the opening stages with Johann Zarco back in pitlane with a smoking Pramac Ducati.
Improvements saw the Espargaros lock out the top of the standings at the halfway stage. Aleix improving his overall position to sixth as he refined his 1’31.4 pace, with Pol narrowly behind and second in both standings.
Pecco Bagnaia joined his Ducati teammate in fourth and fifth as FP3 continued. Franky Morbidelli running ninth in the practice but with both factory Yamaha’s adrift of the Q2 zone.
Zarco was back out and improving on his earlier luck as he entered the top 10, Alex Rins doing likewise as they dropped Morbidelli out with Maverick Viñales sandwiched between the Italian and Fabio Quartararo from 11th to 13th.
Nakagami continued his impressive run taking second, by a millisecond, and sitting fourth overall. Espargaro improving the target to 1’30.951, just 0.0024s off the overall benchmark and half that to his brother’s Friday best.
Brad Binder advanced to fourth, just fractions off the Respol Honda as he consolidated his Q2 contention. Andrea Dovizioso holding on to his promotion by a whisker as the times began to heat up. Morbidelli was the next to rise, taking third in the session, fifth overall and demoting his Petronas replacement out of the afternoon shootout.
Pol Espargaro suffering a dramatic highside at turn 13 and requiring medical attention from trackside as he was stretched off.
Quartararo began to push in the final third, taking fifth behind his Monster Energy teammate as Mir hot the top with a 1’30.876. Miller taking charge once again, improving on his Friday effort with a 1’35.547.
Dovizioso climbed to 11th with Rossi alongside for 12th as the pair circulated just three-tenths shy of the Q2 gateway - the World Champion holding the keys.
Bagnaia joined his teammate in the top three with Nakagami once again shining in second as Luca Marini put in his own impressive performance to eighth.
Morbidelli was on a charge in the closing six minutes, bettering the LCR for second, just six-hundredths down on the Ducati. Quartararo half a second down before his best time was deleted due to a yellow flag infringement and he dropped to 17th. The Frenchman was on a mission, however, as he returned to eighth, still 0.5 down on Miller’s best.
The penultimate minute found Martin third, Bagnaia fourth as Rossi entered the top 10. Aleix Espargaro back on top with a 1’30.529 as Rossi sat in the danger zone. Iker Lecuona crashed out at turn two in the final minute as the pack pushed hard, the chequered flag waving as Rossi clung on to promotion.
Espargaro claimed the spoils as the session concluded, Miller, Morbidelli, Bagnaia and Martin completing the top five with Mir, Nakagami, Zarco and Quartararo heading Rossi in the top 10 - less than three-tenths covering the entirety of the Q2 zone with less than a second separating the full pack.
