San Marino MotoGP, Misano - Free Practice (3) Results
Francesco Bagnaia fastest during a dry Free Practice 3 for the 2021 San Marino MotoGP at Misano.
Dry and sunny weather after Friday's heavy downpours meant Maverick Vinales' day one pace was soon beaten, by last weekend's winner Bagnaia and title leader Fabio Quartararo.
New Aprilia rider Vinales fought back to regain P1, but couldn't quite match the hottest pace on new tryes at the end of the session.
Nonetheless, Vinales held onto a strong fifth - behind Bagnaia, Quartararo, Jack Miller and Joan Mir - with team-mate Aleix Espargaro completing the top six.
Alex Rins made it two Suzukis straight through to Qualifying 2 with Johann Zarco, the top Honda of Pol Espargaro (after a track limits penalty for Takaaki Nakagami), Jorge Martin and Ducati wild-card Michele Pirro completing the top ten.
Marc Marquez, who battled Bagnaia to the line last weekend but continues to struggle with pain and weakness in his right shoulder, will be headin to Qualifying 1 after a fall in Turn 14 while trying to break into the top ten.
Tech3 KTM's Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona also fell in the closing minutes.
Franco Morbidelli is making a return from knee surgery for his debut at Monster Yamaha, as Vinales' full-time replacement alongside Fabio Quartararo.
Taking over Morbidelli's ex-Petronas Yamaha A-spec bike is triple MotoGP title runner-up Andrea Dovizioso, the former Ducati star also remaining at what will be a renamed RNF Racing team for 2022.
Dovizioso climbed from 24th and +2.5s, to 21st and +1.138s
Test riders Stefan Bradl (Honda) and Pirro (Ducati) are making wild-card appearances.
A two-day official test will be held next week while the second Misano round, also the final home MotoGP appearance for local legend Valentino Rossi, will take place on October 22-24.
As traditional, Rossi unveiled a special helmet design on Saturday morning at his home GP, this time featuring a pink bow for the father-to-be.
The Italian legend walked away from a fast fall at Turn 13 on his way to 19th.
Pink is the new yellow for The Doctor
— CRASH.NET/MotoGP (@crash_motogp) September 18, 2021
Valentino Rossis special Misano helmet is dedicated to his daughter who is on the way
Love it #MotoGP #SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/SP5riNyIuj
San Marino MotoGP, Misano - Free Practice (3) Results Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Diff Lap Max 1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) 1'31.936s 16/19 298k 2 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.039s 16/21 293k 3 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +0.153s 19/21 298k 4 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.200s 18/23 295k 5 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +0.264s 10/21 298k 6 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.388s 20/22 296k 7 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.428s 20/20 301k 8 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.480s 17/19 299k 9 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +0.491s 16/20 298k 10 Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +0.496s 12/15 296k 11 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.545s 15/20 296k 12 Stefan Bradl GER HRC (RC213V) +0.614s 17/17 297k 13 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.701s 18/20 300k 14 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.708s 15/21 292k 15 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.871s 16/21 299k 16 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +0.902s 5/16 300k 17 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.105s 19/20 295k 18 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.117s 16/17 293k 19 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.124s 7/20 296k 20 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.138s 19/19 290k 21 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.210s 16/20 297k 22 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.299s 6/19 298k 23 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.369s 6/19 296k 24 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.389s 16/19 291k
* 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 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) 4 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 5 Maverick Vinales ESP Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 6 Alex Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 7 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) 8 Pol Espargaro ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 9 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* 10 Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Team (GP21)
Fastest Friday time:
Maverick Vinales SPA Aprilia 1m 32.666s
Official Misano MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Maverick Vinales SPA Yamaha 1m 31.007s (2020)
Fastest race lap:
Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati 1m 32.319s(2020)
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.
