Yamahas dominating in FP1, but inexplicably behind in FP2, Hondas going the opposite way, as well as Ducatis never far from the first places during these first two sessions; that's something to spice up this third episode of these MotoGP tests on the Losail circuit, which see the best riders in the world compete in almost ideal conditions provided by a clear sky and temperatures of 22° in the air and 21° on the track.
This is the last session which possibly counts for pre-qualifying and direct progression to QP2. At the moment, Iannone, Marquez, Lorenzo, Redding, Vinales, Rossi, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, Barbera and Pol Espargaro are qualified in that order.
After a few laps, Valentino Rossi returns to his box, while Marc Marquez turns on the red Live Timing lights, signifying an improvement in the best partials. However, he loses his advantage in T4.
After 12 minutes, it was Dani Pedrosa (Hard front, Medium rear) who took command of the combined three sessions, in 1'55.357.
Halfway through the session, Valentino Rossi, then Marc Marquez improved the partials, but not the times. Andrea Iannone takes out the side fins (in addition to those on the fork crown) on her D16GP and Marc Marquez lines up three red lights before being blocked involuntarily by Jorge Lorenzo (Mid front / Soft rear) and returning to the box in this end of second run.
The last quarter of an hour first saw Bradley Smith enter the Top 10 before falling in turn #. This time it's Maverick Vinales who lights up the lights, which brings him to 4th position.
At this moment, the Top 5 is held in less than a tenth of a second; amazing!
Dovizioso in turn made his effort and took the best time, in 1'55.239. Rossi imitates him but loses in T4. Lorenzo brings out the artillery and takes provisional pole. We then have 15 pilots in less than a second. The Ducati responded but the Majorcan rider continued his effort and recorded a 1'54.776 that only Marc Marquez could come within 2 tenths of.
There are still 5 minutes left and the Top 10 looks like this: Lorenzo, Marquez, Pedrosa, Dovizioso, Iannone, Redding, Vinales, Rossi, Pol Espargaro and Barbera.
It's Iannone and his monstrous D16GP who improve the provisional best time; 1'54.639. The fight is absolutely intense and the times are faster than with the Bridgestones!
Jack Miller fell without gravity while Dovizioso took his Desmosedici to 4th place.
In the end, a very intense session with very close performances (12 drivers in the second) which foreshadows qualifying and a fantastic race!
| Pos | number | Pile | Country | Team | Motorcycle | Km / h | Temps | difference 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 350.3 | 1'54.639 | |
| 2 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Yamaha Motor Racing | Yamaha | 335.6 | 1'54.776 | 0.137 / 0.137 |
| 3 | 93 | Marc Márquez | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 337.2 | 1'54.835 | 0.196 / 0.059 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 348.9 | 1'54.945 | 0.306 / 0.110 |
| 5 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 337.2 | 1'54.976 | 0.337 / 0.031 |
| 6 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 339.4 | 1'55.113 | 0.474 / 0.137 |
| 7 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Yamaha Motor Racing | Yamaha | 338.9 | 1'55.175 | 0.536 / 0.062 |
| 8 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 343.8 | 1'55.323 | 0.684 / 0.148 |
| 9 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Yakhnich bow | Ducati | 341.5 | 1'55.399 | 0.760 / 0.076 |
| 10 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 337.9 | 1'55.476 | 0.837 / 0.077 |
| 11 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 332.5 | 1'55.491 | 0.852 / 0.015 |
| 12 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 339.5 | 1'55.505 | 0.866 / 0.014 |
| 13 | 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 336.4 | 1'55.773 | 1.134 / 0.268 |
| 14 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | OCTO Yakhnich bow | Ducati | 339.5 | 1'55.931 | 1.292 / 0.158 |
| 15 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Honda LCR | Honda | 336.7 | 1'55.946 | 1.307 / 0.015 |
| 16 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 340.4 | 1'56.100 | 1.461 / 0.154 |
| 17 | 43 | Jack Miller | AUS | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 337.0 | 1'56.207 | 1.568 / 0.107 |
| 18 | 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 336.4 | 1'56.625 | 1.986 / 0.418 |
| 19 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 336.3 | 1'56.749 | 2.110 / 0.124 |
| 20 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 331.4 | 1'57.069 | 2.430 / 0.320 |
| 21 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | IRL | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 340.2 | 1'57.135 | 2.496 / 0.066 |
