The sun was out on Saturday morning at the Sachsenring which allowed the premier class riders to improve their Friday times, with the Aleix Espargaro jumping up to P4 on the combined standings to immediately push Rossi outside the top ten.

Unlike what we’re used to seeing, the fast lap times weren’t just being set on a soft rear. A lot of the riders were using the hard-rear Michelin compound, with Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager Piero Taramasso saying: “The hard rear tyre gives you more stability, the rear is more stable, it gives you more confidence and you can push more. The soft one is also designed for lower temperatures, the hard is designed for higher temperatures, this is the situation for the afternoon.”

Riders such as Joan Mir and Viñales were doing personal best lap times on the hard-rear, Mir went to P5 with less than ten minutes to go, with Vinales going above Marquez’ Friday time on the same tyre.

With less than five minutes to go, Marquez was P3 behind Vinales and Quartararo, the latter had gone P1 using the soft rear tyre. At the same point, Danilo Petrucci, Dovizioso and Rossi were outside the top ten before ‘Petrux’ shot himself to P4. The top ten was changing all the time and a big climber in the latter stages was Cal Crutchlow, the British rider jumping from P14 to P4 after Rossi had gone P9, this pushed 'The Doctor' down to 10th. Friday’s third fastest man Alex Rins then found himself outside the top ten but a late personal best saw the Spaniard go P5, this meant Rossi was out.

So Marquez heads Quartararo leading into qualifying, a late wobble down ‘The Waterfall’ looked to give the rookie sensation so trouble with the shoulder though, will he be ok for Saturday afternoon?

Vinales is looking good in P3, with riding-wounded Crutchlow impressing in fourth – 0.306 off Marquez. Rins is also three tenths off P1, with Franco Morbidelli going well late on to finish P6. Petrucci is the leading Ducati in seventh, he’ll go straight into the Q2 shootout ahead of fellow GP19 Jack Miller. Mir and Pol Espargaro – despite a late crash at Turn 3 – also confirm automatic Q2 places in ninth and tenth.

Full FP3 Result: