Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins set a 1:39.547 in FP3 at the Catalan GP to lead the MotoGP field in qualifying.
The Spaniard going 0.036 quicker than Friday’s quickest man Fabio Quartararo on a medium-front Michelin tyre, with Cal Crutchlow slamming in a late lap to finish third overall as times tumbled in Barcelona.
Conditions were perfect for the premier class to do their thing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and straight from the off, Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez and Rins improved their times from Friday – Marquez going to the summit, Rins went to third. Other riders were improving in the early stages too, Aleix Espargaro and Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi to most notable ones.
The action calmed down for the middle part of FP3 but it was all bubbling up nicely for a grandstand last 15 minutes, and sure enough, rookie sensation Quartararo took back P1 with just over 15 to go.
This set off a chain reaction as everyone bar Rins went out on the soft-soft tyre combination, with the Suzuki rider hitting top spot on a medium front. The likes of Jorge Lorenzo started to infiltrate the top ten as the timing screen started lighting up with red and orange sectors, with Maverick Viñales getting himself into the all-important top ten in the last ten mins.
However, FP3 would end badly for Petronas Yamaha SRT. Franco Morbidelli, while battling to keep his place in the top ten, suffered a big highside at Turn 13, with Quartararo then experiencing his first premier class crash at Turn 2 – luckily for the 20-year-old, he was safe from dropping out the top ten.
At the chequered flag, it was Rins, Quartararo and Crutchlow who led the way on three different manufacturers, with Rossi sitting 0.175 back from P1 in fourth. Viñales makes it three Yamahas in the top five ahead of qualifying, a very positive weekend so far for the factory YZR-M1 duo, with Mission Winnow Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso finding time to sit sixth.
Pol Espargaro slammed in a late 1:39.857 to go 7th, the Spaniard heads Mugello winner Danilo Petrucci in eighth who in turn leads the Honda Team duo. Marquez could only manage P9 on the soft-soft combination, with teammate Lorenzo grabbing a Q2 spot in P10 – the two having a bit of an altercation in FP3.
Francesco Bagnaia crashed at Turn 2 late on, rider ok.
Full FP3 Result:
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | 1’39.547 | |
| 2 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | 1’39.583 | 0.036 / 0.036 |
| 3 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | 1’39.711 | 0.164 / 0.128 |
| 4 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1’39.722 | 0.175 / 0.011 |
| 5 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1’39.756 | 0.209 / 0.034 |
| 6 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 1’39.769 | 0.222 / 0.013 |
| 7 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | 1’39.857 | 0.310 / 0.088 |
| 8 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1’39.918 | 0.371 / 0.061 |
| 9 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 1’39.923 | 0.376 / 0.005 |
| 10 | Jorge LORENZO | Honda | 1’39.949 | 0.402 / 0.026 |
| 11 | Jack MILLER | Ducati | 1’39.967 | 0.420 / 0.018 |
| 12 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 1’40.067 | 0.520 / 0.100 |
| 13 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | 1’40.079 | 0.532 / 0.012 |
| 14 | Joan MIR | Suzuki | 1’40.158 | 0.611 / 0.079 |
| 15 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | 1’40.366 | 0.819 / 0.208 |
| 16 | Andrea IANNONE | Aprilia | 1’40.454 | 0.907 / 0.088 |
| 17 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Ducati | 1’40.582 | 1.035 / 0.128 |
| 18 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1’40.761 | 1.214 / 0.179 |
| 19 | Johann ZARCO | KTM | 1’40.942 | 1.395 / 0.181 |
| 20 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 1’40.996 | 1.449 / 0.054 |
| 21 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia | 1’41.023 | 1.476 / 0.027 |
| 22 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 1’41.102 | 1.555 / 0.079 |
| 23 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | 1’41.115 | 1.568 / 0.013 |
| 24 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | KTM | 1’41.498 | 1.951 / 0.383 |
