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There are confirmations and surprises. The third MotoGP free practice session had Maverick Viñales solidly in the lead. No one was able to get close to the time of 1’54”316 that the Spaniard did yesterday. The Yamaha standard bearer is looking down at the pack from above, but look at who is behind him. It is not Marc Marquez, but rather Andrea Iannone. In his final attempt, The Maniac managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat, snagging second place at a half second from the leader (+0.532).
Marquez, on the other hand, did not improve (+0596), deciding to go with the hard front tyre and the soft rear in his last outing, therefore having to settle for the third best time in the combined standings. There is another Yamaha in the top spots, the one ridden by Johann Zarco, who did the fourth best time (+0.692). The Frenchman makes the difference in the second and third sector, playing a key role in the Tech3 camp. His teammate, Jonas Folger, on the other hand, finished eighth, two tenths behind.
Friday at Losail also showed Andrea Dovizioso’s improvement (+0.726) who pulled the pin in FP2. His fifth place time guarantees direct access to Q2 for him, just like Scott Redding, unlucky enough to crash in the finale. The Pramac standard bearer, however, is comforted by his sixth position, finishing 28 thousandths ahead of Daniel Pedrosa’s Honda.
Redding was not the only one to end up in the gravel. The same fate befell Cal Crutchlow (+0.895), ninth at the end of the day. Those going straight through to Q2 can count Valentino Rossi in their number. The Doctor earned tenth place by the skin of his teeth, having to deal with a technical problem just a few minutes from the end, heading into the garage and then going out again.
Petrucci was eleventh (+1.119), 26 thousandths ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, whereas Aleix Espargaró’s Aprilia finished fifteenth, followed by Miller, Abraham and Rins. Twenty-second place for rookie Sam Lowes.
