Vietti tops damp FP3 as weather starts to play its part

SKY Racing Team VR46's Celestino Vietti ended up half a second clear of the Moto3™ field during a damp but drying FP3 at the myWorld Austrian Grand Prix. Heavy rain overnight left the circuit fully wet at the start of the 40 minute session but come the closing stages and a dry line was starting to appear. The Italian set a 1:42.775, six seconds adrift of Tony Arbolino's (Rivacold Snipers Team) fastest lap on the combined timesheets.

Honda Team Asia's Ai Ogura sits second on the FP3 timesheets, ahead of Red Bull KTM Ajo's Raul Fernandez and Austria's very own Max Kofler (CIP Green Power) in third and fourth. Vietti's SKY Racing Team VR46 teammate Andrea Migno completed the top five split by eight tenths of a second. A handful of riders went down during the session, the first of which being Red Bull KTM Tech 3's Deniz Oncu. The Turk was joined in the gravel trap by Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0).

On the combined timesheets and leading the pack into Q2 later this afternoon is Arbolino ahead of John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing). Conditions for Q1 are currently a mystery with some rain forecast throughout the afternoon but who knows when the heavens will open above the Red Bull Ring; it's sure to make it as unpredictable as ever so don't miss the lightweight class qualifying starting at 12:35 local time.

Top 10 in FP3:
 1. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) – 1:42.775
 2. Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) + 0.476
 3. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.525
 4. Max Kofler (CIP Green Power) + 0.702
 5. Andrea Migno (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.808
 6. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.882
 7. Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.949
 8. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) + 0.962
 9. Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) + 1.126
 10. Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 1.131

Click here for full results!