Styrian MotoGP, Austria - Free Practice (3) Results
Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati take over at the top during a dry and sunny Free Practice 3 for the Styrian MotoGP.
The fine conditions meant all riders beat their Friday pace, meaning the top ten for direct access to the second and final part of qualifying was decided purely on FP3 times.
Among those missing out will be all five of the home KTM riders, but with wild-card Dani Pedrosa again impressing as the quickest RC16.
World championship leader Quartararo was visibly angry after repeatedly running on at Turn 3 as he struggled to stop his M1 and had been outside of the top ten with just 3mins to go. Quartararo then leapt to second... only to have the lap time cancelled for track limits, putting him back to 13th.
The Frenchman kept clear of the green next time around to go fastest, before Bagnaia's late attack, while team-mate Maverick Vinales had the best pace of the M1s.
Suzuki riders Mir and Rins received the factory's new rear ride-height device available for the first time on Saturday morning, meaning all six manufacturers now have the device, which can be used for the race start and to aid hard acceleration around the rest of the lap.
Miguel Oliveira injured his hand in a Friday highside but was back for FP3.
Pedrosa, who retired from MotoGP at the end of 2018, is returning to action this weekend as a wild-card entry for KTM, where he is employed as an official test rider. Pedrosa won 31 races during his premier-class career, spent entirely with Honda.
Cal Crutchlow is also back in MotoGP, for the next three rounds, as a replacement for the injured Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha. A three time MotoGP race winner, Crutchlow signed up as Yamaha's official test rider after retiring from MotoGP at the end of last season.
Valentino Rossi announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of the 2021 season.
The back-to-back Austrian events will be the first since the start of the Covid pandemic without special restrictions in place for spectator numbers.
Rain is forecast for Sunday.
| Styrian MotoGP, Austria - Free Practice (3) Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Team (GP21) | 1'23.114s | 23/23 | 318k |
| 2 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.028s | 23/24 | 310k |
| 3 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.148s | 21/21 | 311k |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP21)* | +0.180s | 20/20 | 317k |
| 5 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.273s | 22/23 | 309k |
| 6 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP21) | +0.373s | 20/22 | 316k |
| 7 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.399s | 16/21 | 315k |
| 8 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | +0.480s | 16/19 | 311k |
| 9 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Team (GP21) | +0.617s | 23/23 | 315k |
| 10 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.626s | 20/22 | 313k |
| 11 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.643s | 20/21 | 319k |
| 12 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.644s | 21/23 | 313k |
| 13 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.652s | 19/24 | 309k |
| 14 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.675s | 23/24 | 316k |
| 15 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.685s | 22/22 | 313k |
| 16 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.821s | 20/22 | 310k |
| 17 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.045s | 19/21 | 309k |
| 18 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.228s | 19/21 | 308k |
| 19 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.267s | 21/21 | 306k |
| 20 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +1.270s | 20/22 | 314k |
| 21 | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +1.289s | 18/18 | 311k |
| 22 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* | +1.323s | 22/23 | 310k |
| 23 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.530s | 18/21 | 305k |
* Rookie
| Riders directly to Qualifying 2 - Top 10 Combined Practice Times: | |||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team |
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Team (GP21) |
| 2 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) |
| 3 | Maverick Vinales | ESP | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP21)* |
| 5 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) |
| 6 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP21) |
| 7 | Marc Marquez | ESP | Repsol Honda (RC213V) |
| 8 | Aleix Espargaro | ESP | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) |
| 9 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Team (GP21) |
| 10 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) |
Fastest Friday time:
Takaaki Nakagami JPN Honda 1m 23.805s
Official Red Bull Ring MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 1m 23.027s (2019)
Fastest race lap:
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati 1m 23.827s (2019)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
