After a setback for a technical infraction on Friday, the Aprilia rider took advantage of the dry track to set the best time on Saturday morning (25) and lead MotoGP on the eve of qualifying. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins complete a top-three covered by only 0s156
Aleix Espargaró's prayers were answered and a dry morning track allowed the Catalan rider to set the fastest time in MotoGP practice 3 for the Dutch GP. After having his second best time on Friday cancelled due to a technical regulation infraction, the Catalan took advantage of the dry track on Saturday (25) to lead the premier class at Assen.
Also competing with Maverick Viñales, Aleix had to hold off Fabio Quartararo, but with 1min32s205, he left the championship leader 0s041 from the lead even with a tumble in the final minutes of the activity.
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Álex Rins put the Suzuki in third place after Viñales' time was cancelled due to yellow flags, ahead of Takaaki Nakagami, who secured fifth place on the last of 21 laps. Marco Bezzecchi was fifth, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia.
Viñales dropped to seventh, escorted by Jorge Martín and Johann Zarco. 0s714 slower than the leader, Jack Miller rounds out the top ten in Assen.
Pol Espargaró had to abandon the weekend at Assen still as a result of the heavy accident he suffered in Germany last week. With pain in his ribs, the Catalan is having trouble breathing and did not feel safe to ride.
The qualifying practice for the Dutch GP of MotoGP in Assen takes place this Saturday at 9:10 am (Brasilia time).GRANDE PRÊMIO follows all the activities of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship.
Find out how the third MotoGP free practice for the Dutch GP went:
Saturday in Assen dawned with less rain than Friday. When it was time for MotoGP to take to the track, the sky was partly cloudy, the thermometers measured 22°C, with the asphalt reaching 28°C and relative humidity around 28%. The wind speed was 10 km/h.
The weather conditions were a relief especially for Aleix Espargaró, who was hoping for a dry track as a punishment on Friday had left him with the last time in the combined practice results.
Early in the session, Aleix already set a 1min33s428 and secured his place, albeit provisionally, in Q2. The Catalan was leading the session ahead of Maverick Viñales.
Also early in the session, Luca Marini had a crash, but escaped major injury. The Italian has been in good form since the Italian GP.
Álex Rins managed to jump to third place, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, and Marco Bezzecchi. Quartararo dropped to seventh. Shortly after, Bez moved up to second, separating the Aprilia duo.
Viñales then went 1min32s960 and took the lead from Aleix Espargaró by a margin of 0s468 in the Dutch. Bagnaia took third place ahead of Rins, Quartararo, Bezzecchi and Oliveira.
Shortly after, at turn 15 at Ramshoek, Franco Morbidelli had a rather heavy crash, but escaped major injury and left the track walking after checking the condition of the #21 YZR-M1.
Quartararo went 1min33s223 to move up to third, 0s312 slower than Viñales. Joan Mir also managed to improve and now had the fourth fastest time, ahead of Pecco, Rins and Jack Miller.
Quartararo made a further improvement and with 1min32s994 rose to second place, just 0s083 behind Viñales. Álex Rins followed the same route and moved up to fourth, ahead of Bezzecchi and Zarco, both equally faster.
With 17 minutes to the end of the session, the riders went into the pits for the last adjustments before the final attack on the timesheet. The combined top-10 was Viñales, Quartararo, Aleix Espargaró, Rins, Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Zarco, Mir, Miller, and Brad Binder.
The first big breakthrough in this final round came from Enea Bastianini. The Gresini rider's lap of 1min33s261 took him to fifth place, 0s350 behind Viñales. Oliveira was also faster and took sixth place. Aleix Espargaró managed to pass his Aprilia teammate by 0s393 and retake the lead in the third free session for the Dutch GP.
Shortly after setting a personal best time, Bastianini slipped and crashed at turn seven, but was not badly injured despite rolling in the gravel.
Zarco went 1min32s726 and took second place, only 0s045 better than Bezzecchi, who placed third. Rins, however, came up next to push the two down and take second place.
Maverick then went 1min32s487 and retook the lead, but it was very little there as Aleix went 0s323 faster straight away to retake the reins of TL3. Quartararo came next to separate the duo from Noale and was only 0s041 slower than the Catalan from Granollers.
Further back, Takaaki Nakagami took seventh place ahead of Jack Miller, Joan Mir, and Fabio Di Giannantonio. With just under 8 minutes to go, Pecco Bagnaia was only 15th on the combined practice times.
The Italian, however, acted quickly to get out of the heat. With 1min32s440, Pecco advanced to third in TL3, only 0s276 slower than Aleix, ensuring at least provisionally a direct spot in Q2.
The track then emptied as the riders went for a round of pit stops. Aleix Espargaró, Quartararo, Bagnaia, Viñales, Rins, Zarco, Bezzecchi, Nakagami, Miller, and Mir made up the top ten on the Dutch track.
The track was soon cleared, which allowed Quartararo to place just 0s002 behind Aleix. Viñales improved to third, only 0s055 behind Fabio. Nakagami jumped up to 5th, taking Mir out of the combined top-10.