Aleix Espargaro smashes outright lap record in FP3

Aprilia Racing's Aleix Espargaro asserted himself even further as the favourite for Sunday's Monster Energy Catalan Grand Prix by setting the fastest-ever MotoGP™ lap around the Circuit de Barcelona - Catalunya in FP3. The Spaniard posted a quite sensational 1:38.771 to better Fabio Quartararo's (Monster Energy Yamaha) 2021 lap by just over a tenth of a second and lead the premier field into qualifying later on Saturday.

With 15 minutes of the session remaining, Espargaro grabbed the attention of everyone up and down pitlane by setting his historic lap and, as time ticked away, nobody was able to better it. Both Prima Pramac Racing machines were the Aprilia man's closest challengers with Johann Zarco in second and Jorge Martin in third. Continuing the queue of Bologna bullets behind Espargaro's RS-GP is the factory duo of Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller. A late lap from Bagnaia saw him stick his Ducati Lenovo machine into fourth, only a quarter of a second behind the pacesetter, with Australia's Miller a further half a tenth behind in fifth.

A crucial late charge from the World Champion Quartararo saw the Frenchman hold onto a top ten spot by ending up sixth on the timesheets. One week on from a front row start in Mugello, Mooney VR46 Racing's Luca Marini again was impressing by closing out the Free Practice sessions in seventh. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) is HRC's only rider inside the top ten in eighth, whilst Alex Rins is flying the Team Suzuki Ecstar flag in ninth.

Gresini Racing have one rider inside the top ten but maybe not the one you'd expect it to be. Rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio continues his fine form by securing a place in Q2 later, whilst erstwhile Championship leader, Enea Bastianini, finds himself outside of the top ten and forced to go through Q1 later. He'll be joined there by Aprilia's Maverick Viñales, who despite showcasing fine pace on Friday, drifted backwards to eleventh, denying himself a direct passage to Q2. The pair will be joined there by Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who dropped out of the top ten following an earlier crash at Turn 4.

MotoGP™ FP4 kicks off the afternoon action for the premier class at 13:30 local time (GMT+2) before the grid for Sunday's Catalan Grand Prix is set at 14:00.

MotoGP™ Free Practice 3 Top 10:
1. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – 1:38.771
2. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.131
3. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.234
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.236
5. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.303
6. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.317
7. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.462
8. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.475
9. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.489
10. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.642