Under blissfully sunny skies in the Tuscan hills, Moto3™ took to the track to open Saturday action with the all-important FP3, where the top 14 go directly to Q2. It was Spaniard Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who secured top spot, with a lap that was less than half-a-tenth from the outright Moto3™ lap record.
With the session unfolding and riders continuously improving, it was Tony Arbolino who rocketed to the top with a lap right at the end of the session. Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), who was briefly on top, was pushed back to second whilst home-hero Denis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) was third. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) was fourth, vastly improving on his 27th at the end of FP2 yesterday. Completing the top five was Britain’s John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), building on his strong form from Le Mans.
All change in the dying seconds of #Moto3 FP3! ????@TonyArbolino edges out @Alonsolopez72 and @dennisfoggia71 to top the final practice session! ????#ItalianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/gwT4qLlv8F
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) June 1, 2019
Sixth place was occupied by Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), making it both of the team’s riders going directly to Q2. Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) improved to seventh, whilst championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgada Max Racing Team) – who was on top for the majority of the session – finished eighth. SIC58 Squadra Corse riders Tatsuki Suzuki and Niccolo Antonelli rounded out the top ten and are in Q2.
The four other riders joining them are Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) in 11th, Argentine Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) in 12th, Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) in 13th at a circuit he has won at, back in 2014, with the last place into Q1 going to Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46).
Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), who crashed early on at Turn 12, although he was OK. With just under three minutes left on the clock, he was able to get out on circuit, with good work from his team in fixing the bike, although he only managed 21st. Marcos Ramirez was a surprise down in 28th on combined sheets.
A tricky weekend continues for @AlbertArenas75! ????
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) June 1, 2019
The @AngelNietoTeam rider has fallen at Correntaio and currently sits outside the Q2 spots! ????#ItalianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/THA7jhfJuJ
Q1 gets underway at 12:35 (GMT+2) at the Mugello venue, with perfect weather set to make another exciting, unpredictable set of qualifying sessions.
For full results of combined sessions, click here!
Combined top 10:
1. Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) – 1:56.637
2. Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) + 0.004
3. Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.069
4. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) + 0.128
5. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.150
6. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) + 0.239
7. Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) + 0.283
8. Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.382
9. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.410
10. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.474