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Those who thought that the new Michelin tyres might change things were probably disappointed, with Marc Marquez dominating once again in the final free practice. By setting the best time again in FP3, the Spaniard has proved that he is the man to beat. He even ducked under the 2’04” barrier, stopping the clock on 2’03”741, almost three tenths quicker than the best time he set on Friday.
While Marquez leads the way, Andrea Iannone (+0.196) is not hanging around either, less than two tenths behind the leader. The Ducati rider reduced the gap at his last attempt, which could make for an exciting head to head between the two, while the Yamahas are struggling to fight at the front so far this weekend.
While Friday brought improvement, Jorge Lorenzo (+0.590) concludes FP3 in third, more than half a second from the leader. The current champion has nevertheless shown strong pace through the first two sector, but is suffering in the final sector as is Maverick Vinales, just 0.005 of a second from his fellow countryman.
Valentino Rossi is down in sixth (+0.709), as he struggles to find the right feeling at the Austin track. He still has to deal with a gap of more than seven tenths, and is preceded in FP3 by Cal Crutchlow (+0.667). The issues continue for Daniel Pedrosa (+0.783), who hoped for improvement after a tricky first day. The Spaniard closes more than eight tenths behind his team-mate with Baz on the Ducati Avintia (+0.834) and Dovizioso on the factory bike hot on his heels, though the latter is a good second from the front.
Scott Redding rounds out the top ten (+1.028), while Pirro closes fourteenth (+1.547), substituting for Danilo Petrucci. Bad luck for Hector Barberà, suffering a problem with the brake in the final stages.
