NTS RW Racing GP’s Steven Odendaal took full advantage of a drying track at the Shark Helmets Grand Prix de France by sticking slick rubber in his Moto2™ machine to go quickest with his last lap of the session.
Odendaal was closely followed by FlexBox HP 40’s Augusto Fernandez and MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward’s Dominique Aegerter, with the top three over a second clear of the rest of the field.
A MASSIVE highside for @dimaspratama20! ????
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) May 18, 2019
Luckily he's back in the garage and avoided injury! Look at the gravel in his helmet! ????#FrenchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/QK2dK0hnoR
Despite the track drying ever so slightly, another South African remained as the fastest rider on the combined times, as nobody was able to improve, so it’s Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder leading the way into Q2 later this afternoon.
Joining Binder in Q2 will be Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) and the FlexBox HP 40 duo of Lorenzo Baldassarri and Fernandez. On his debut outing for the Petronas Sprinta Racing squad, Mattia Pasini progresses straight into Q2 where he’ll fight for pole position with Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) plus compatriots Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) and Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2).
Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) is ninth on the combined standings ahead of Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), who had a small tumble early in FP3. Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46), Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP), Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) take up the final Q2 spots.
Moto2™ Q1 gets started at 15:05 (GMT+2) and with big names like Dynavolt Intact GP’s Tom Lüthi, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Sam Lowes and Lightech Speed Up’s Jorge Navarro all having to fight it out for a place in Q2, it’s not one to be missed.
Combined top 10:
1. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:36.551
2. Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) + 0.049
3. Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP40) + 0.117
4. Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP40) + 0.136
5. Mattia Pasini (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.143
6. Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 0.203
7. Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.211
8. Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) + 0.283
9. Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.290
10. Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.307
Click here for the full results!