MotoGP Aragon FP3 LIVE: 5 out of 5 for Ducati!

The first day of the 15th round of the MotoGP World Championship at the Motorland Aragon circuit, in Spain, did not disappoint: of course, we are starting to get used to it, we still find four Ducatis in the first five places, but , like Asterix resisting the Romans, fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) continues to fight and in a good way since he occupies 2nd place just 74 thousandths behind George Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), closely followed by Johann zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) 33 thousandths behind. Did you say “intense”?

Let's not forget that the reigning world champion keeps explaining that things often get worse for him from Saturday onwards, when the times continue to improve, and that he would need to be half a second faster to be able to overtake in the race and not only be slowed down in the turns. But faced with this rational analysis, The Devil often showed us that he knew how to be magical and get the best out of his Yamaha M1…

In any case, the French driver will have to face very strong opposition who are worried about the rapid degradation of the rear tire: will the 23-lap race be decided by economy in this domain?

As for the other contenders for the title, Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a rather stronger first day than usual, which hardly bodes well for all its opponents, whileAlex Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) tasted Spanish asphalt twice, fortunately without seriousness.

And how can we not highlight the exceptional performance of Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team) for his return, leading the times for a moment and ultimately in eighth position due to a slip in his best timed lap, far ahead of his teammate Espargaro Pol while also trying the Kalex aluminum swingarm? The 29-year-old driver is simply extraordinary!

Finally, George Martin, fabio quartararo, Johann zarco, Enea Bastianini, Francis Bagnaia, alex rins, Maverick Vinales, Marc Márquez, Jack Miller et Luca marini are therefore currently pre-qualified for Q2.

While waiting to discover more, as the 24 drivers prepare for this third free practice session of 45 minutes in the dry, with a little wind and temperatures of 18° in the air and 22° in the ground under an immaculate sky, let's enjoy these few live moments thanks to the official website MotoGP.com :

Here are the past references:

Aragon MotoGP™	2021	2022
FP1	1'48.048 Marc Marquez (See here)	1'48.686 Aleix Espargaro (See here)
FP2	1'47.613 Jack Miller (See here)	1'47.402 Jorge Martin (See here)
FP3	1'46.926 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'46.992 Jack Miller (See here)
FP4	1'48.116 Marc Marquez (See here)	(See here)
Q1	1'47.293 Johann Zarco (See here)	(See here)
Q2	1'46.322 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
Warm up	1'48.054 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
Course	Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Joan Mir (See here)	(See here)
All time lap record	1'46.322 Francesco Bagnaia (2021)

When the red lights go out... once is not customary, this time Joan mir who rushes first in front fabio quartararo !

On the pneumatic side, almost all options are available, although with a preference for mediums…

Joan mir registered the first reference but it is Marco Bezzecchi turns out to be the fastest at the end of the first flying lap, in 149585 ahead Marc Marquez et fabio quartararo.

Despite the improvements in fabio quartararo et Marc Márquez, the driver of the VR46 retained the lead in 1'47.955 on the next pass.

Maverick Vinales, the only rider not to have crashed this season, takes you on his Aprilia…

We then witness a superb catch-up from the front of Marc Márquez off-piste: the eight-time world champion will not take long to regain his level!

At the end of the first quarter of an hour, only Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Darryn Binder, Joan Mir and Pol Espargaro improved their times compared to the day before. However, this does not allow any of them to enter the top 10 combined.

A little before the halfway point of the session, the Suzuki riders began to display sectors in red, before positioning themselves in fourth and fifth place in the session. In the process, Joan mir achieves the best time of the morning, in 147763, and obtains his provisional entry ticket for Q2.

This is the moment when Marc Márquez fall at turn #7 without seriousness but damaging his bike.

Just after mid-session, Takaaki Nakagami, pole sitter at the Teruel Grand Prix, in 2020, set the best time of the morning in 1'47.703 then 1'47.549 with a soft rear tire.

This allows the Japanese driver to enter the top 10 in the combined but, as a result, almost everyone leaves with a soft rear tire.

George Martin then took command of the session in 1'47.403, 1/1000 off his time yesterday!

Jack Miller then jumped from 15th to first position, in 1'46.992! The tone is set…

Brad Binder et Fabio Quartararo replied 2/10 from the Australian pilot, the South African having taken advantage of the Frenchman’s wake…

Francis Bagnaia to attack…

Enea Bastianini then beats the circuit speed record at 352,9 km/h.

Brad Binder makes a minor mistake.

Takaaki Nakagami moves up to fourth place, then Miguel Oliveira the third. We then find two KTMs in the first three but George Martin then places his Ducati in second position, 90/1000 behind Jack Miller.

Almost simultaneous falls of Cal Crutchlow and D'alex rins at the end of the session.

In extremis, Francesco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini are placed in second third and fourth place. As a result, some headliners find themselves forced to go through Q1, likeAleix Espargaro, Marc Marquez, Johann Zarco, Maverick Vinales and Joan Mir.

Finally, Jack Miller, Francesco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi, Enea Bastianini, Jorge Martin, Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira, Fabio Quartararo, Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Rins are prequalified for Q2.

MotoGP Aragon Grand Prix FP3 results:

 

Classification credit: MotoGP.com