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Article updated until the end of the session.

“Total uncertainty” could be the very brief summary of the first day of testing for the Teruel Grand Prix, because if the Yamaha had dominated all the sessions last week during the Aragón Grand Prix on the same circuit, this time we find all the manufacturers in the top 10, with the very notable exception of Ducati on a circuit which was nevertheless qualified so far “motor”.

The freshly renewed Takaaki Nakagami, Maverick Viñales, Cal Crutchlow, Fabio Quartararo, Joan Mir, Álex Rins, Iker Lecuona, Aleix Espargaró, Pol Espargaró and Álex Márquez have in fact provisionally pre-qualified for Q2, while the first Ducati, that of Johann zarco, appears in 13th position.

For MotoGP enthusiasts, this uncertainty linked to the tightening of performances is a blessing, just like that which currently reigns in the championship standings. For the drivers, this brings additional stress and does not allow the slightest mistake which then quickly turns into a disaster, but isn't that the very essence of competition?

The sky is immaculate this morning and the temperatures are 17° in the air and 18° on the ground as the 21 drivers prepare to return to the track for the 45 minutes of this FP3 without the slightest breath of wind.

Now it's time to go live!



Aragón-2 MotoGP™

2019

2020

FP1

1'49.866 Maverick Viñales (See here)

1'48.184 Alex Márquez (See here)
FP2

1'47.771 Maverick Viñales (See here)

1'47.782 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)
FP3

1'47.859 Franco Morbidelli (See here)

1'47.333 Franco Morbidelli (See here)
FP4

1'48.551 Franco Morbidelli (See here)

Q1

1'47.605 Danilo Petrucci (See here)

Q2

1'47.076 Fabio Quartararo (See here)

Warm up

1'48.651 Takaaki Nakagami

Course

Alex Rins, Alex Marquez, Joan Mir

All time lap record

1'46.635 Marc Márquez (2015)

When the red lights go out... No surprise, Franco Morbidelli sets off first to benefit from a clear track, unlike Maverick Vinales who takes his time before going out.

All drivers chose a soft front tire, with the exception of Tito Rabat, while for the rear the choice is more shared between the soft and the medium.

From his first lap launched, fabio quartararo registered 1'49.599, confirming that the session is starting at a much higher pace than yesterday.

While the drivers have already completed three laps, Maverick Vinales is still in his box...

The Devil is now 1'48.495 ahead Alex Marquez, Franco Morbidelli and Miguel Oliveira. Yesterday, the opposite of Maverick Casa Particular in Viñales, the French driver said that it was especially necessary to work on the weak points of the M1 because getting pole positions was good, but winning races was better…

Franco Morbidelli achieves the best time in 1'48.433 during his fourth flying lap then 1'48.233 two laps later, while we observe Johann zarco in fifth position.

fabio quartararo keep watching the Suzukis…

At the end of this first quarter of an hour, Maverick Casa Particular in Viñales finally gets out of his box and knows how to make friends...

At the end of the first run, the two Yamaha Petronas precede the two Suzukis but the former used new tires, unlike the latter…
Behind, we find the two HondasAlex Marquez and Takaaki Nakagami, then the two Ducatis of Danilo Petrucci and Johann Zarco before Miguel Oliveira and Andrea Dovizioso.

The access time to Q2 is currently set at 1'48.439, a time achieved by Pol Espargaro yesterday afternoon.

On resumption, fabio quartararo registered 1'48.171, which is within a few thousandths of the same time as the one he achieved yesterday afternoon. We can expect an improvement this morning…

This is indeed the case with a time of 1'47.401 on the next pass, when Brad Binder places his KTM in third position.

This good progress of the RC16s is confirmed a few seconds later by Iker Lecuona which had already shown itself well yesterday. The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider is provisionally in third position, before being overtaken by Takaaki Nakagami and Pol I will espargaro.

A quarter of an hour from the checkered flag, Takaaki Nakagami regains the leadership in 1'47.392, or 9 thousandths ahead of the Frenchman.

Everyone is now on a soft tire at the rear and the serious things begin with a small improvement in Johann zarco which however does not allow it to be included in the top 10, unlike Danilo Petrucci, provisionally 7th overall.

Higher in the ranking, Franco Morbidelli regains third place before failing on the next pass, while Maverick Vinales places its M1 in fourth position.

Johann zarco, who had just put a new tire on the rear, fell without seriousness.

Three minutes from the end of the session, Andrea Dovizioso enters the top 10 in the combined ranking, positioning his Ducati in provisional sixth position.

Jack Miller does the same a few seconds later whileAlex Marquez, one of the two drivers who had not improved his time yesterday in FP2, made his effort and jumped from 16th to fourth position.

Iker Lecuona then seems to ensure a direct passage into Q2 thanks to the 5th time!

In extremis, Franco Morbidelli wins at the top of the ranking thanks to a 1'47.333.

Extremely tight session with 19 drivers in the same second, including 13 in less than half a second! The Ducatis are still struggling but the KTMs are arriving…

FP3 classification of the Teruel MotoGP Grand Prix:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com

All articles on Pilots: Franco Morbidelli

All articles on Teams: Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team