Marc Marquez topped FP3 as the fog began to clear, from Maverick Viñales and Dani Pedrosa.
Early on in the session, Johann Zarco took a trip into the gravel but he was thankfully okay and managed to get back out on track. His team mate Jonas Folger suffered the same fate later in the session. His crash was an odd one – he tried to save it but ended up getting spat off, and it looked as if his throat hit off the screen of the bike. He got up and walked away, but was holding his neck.
Riders went into the pits for soft tyres, and when they came back out it was a battle for the top spot. There are some surprises in the top ten – Alvaro Bautista fourth, Aleix Espargaro seventh and Andrea Iannone ninth. But Valentino Rossi truly stole the show, putting in a lap just 0.9s off Marquez’ pace to claim the final top ten spot – a real comeback for The Doctor.
Mika Kallio made a show of the two permanent factory KTM riders, ending the session in fifth. Kallio has been impressive all weekend, and Bradley Smith could well be out of a job if Kallio’s form continues.
Some high profile names were missing from the top ten, including Jorge Lorenzo who only just missed out in eleventh, Danilo Petrucci, Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger. They will all have to go out into Q1.
Top ten:
- Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team – 1:48.252
- Maverick Viñales, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP +0.310
- Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team +0.431
- Alvaro Bautista, Pull&Bear Aspar Team +0.531
- Mika Kallio, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.559
- Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team +0.629
- Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +0.668
- Cal Crutchlow, LCR Honda +0.769
- Andrea Iannone, Team Suzuki Ecstar +0.887
- Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP +0.971
