Fernandez stays top in hectic final practice
Raul Fernandez has held on to top spot in both the final practice session and on the combined times for Red Bull KTM Ajo as the majority of the Moto3 field end up tripping over each other hunting a fast final lap in the closing minutes.
Raul Fernandez has held on to top spot in both the final practice session and on the combined times for Red Bull KTM Ajo as the majority of the Moto3 field end up tripping over each other hunting a fast final lap in the closing minutes.
The Spanish rider led the field following Friday practice and duly did the same in FP3 despite none of the top riders being able to improve overall in the windy final practice. As a result of conditions and some questionable riding tactics, the top 14 remained unchanged at the end of the session meaning the same names head straight into Q2 in qualifying later today.
With the bulk of the Moto3 field hunting a Q2 spot with a late fast lap, a familiar train of riders formed coming out of pitlane in the closing minutes. But rather than pushing on, many riders held back looking for a tow which eventually wrecked all their laps as nobody at the sharp end improved.
Moto3 riders have already been warned about stricter penalties in a bid to stop this pattern occurring in 2020, meaning a number of riders could be at risk of grid penalties or worse for the opening round in Qatar.
Despite failing to improve on his FP2 time, Fernandez still held on to top spot in FP3 with a 2m 05.465s to pull out almost a quarter of a second over nearest challenger Dennis Foggia on the Leopard Racing Honda. SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda’s Tatsuki Suzuki claimed third place ahead of fellow countryman Ryusei Yamanaka on the Estrella Galici 0,0 Honda who was one of the few riders to improve on their personal best in the final session.
Qatar pre-season test timesheet-topper Filip Salac grabbed fifth place in FP3 for Rivacold Snipers Honda, despite a small off at Turn 5, but ended the session in front of Honda Team Asia’s Ai Ogura and the Czech Republic rider’s team-mate Tony Arbolino.
Albert Arenas (Aspar KTM), Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46 KTM) and Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing Honda) completed the top 10 in FP3.
