After a day of black clouds and gloom, Saturday began with vastly improved weather conditions for the Moto3™ World Championship. It was time for the weekend to begin in earnest, cold temperatures no longer holding the riders back.
Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Moto3) was back on top as the sun came out. The Italian put in a late lap to steal top position with a 1’27.162, 0.142s faster than second place. Gaps between riders were significant on Friday, but it’s all gotten a lot tighter with the top five within half a second.
World Championship leader Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had been somewhat off the pace on Friday, fifth and 0.754s behind Bastianini. No such issues for the South African on Saturday, improved track conditions helping him to cut over a second off his best lap time. A 1’27.304 sees him head to Qualifying as the second fastest rider, 0.142s back on the Italian.
Once again Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) was impressive, the rookie up with the leading riders after a day learning the Sachsenring. The Spaniard was only 0.071s off the championship leader, but had a tough end to the session. He was fortunate to walk away from a highside at Turn 7, Canet no stranger to crashes.
Romano Fenati’s (SKY Racing Team VR46) session got off to a rocky start as he slipped off at Turn 3. It was a harmless crash, the Italian able to remount and return to the pits to dust himself off. He was strong on Friday and his pace continued, finishing FP3 as the fourth fastest rider. Jorge Martin (Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra) was again strong, charging to fifth after technical problems in FP2. He and his fellow Mahindra riders have a new gearbox this weekend.
Andrea Migno (SKY Racing Team VR46), Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold), Hiroki Ono (Honda Team Asia), Jules Danilo (Ongetta-Rivacold) and Francesco Bagnaia (Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra).
It proved to be a tough day for the SKY Racing Team VR46, Nicolo Bulega suffering a huge highside at Turn 10. The Italian rookie was carried away by the medical team and taken to the medical centre, quickly being declared fit.
Fellow VR46 Academy rider Francesco Bagnaia (Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra) crashed not long after at Turn 1. He was able to get to his feet and remount.
Complete results from Moto3™ Free Practice 3 can be viewed here, can Bastianini keep his pace up to take his second pole in a row?