Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) continues to set the Moto3™ pace at the GoPro British Grand Prix after setting a 2:11.844 in FP3, the Italian is the only rider to dip into the 2:11 bracket as he leads teammate Romano Fenati by 0.187. Leopard Racing’s Marcos Ramirez completes the top three ahead of qualifying.
It's a @SnipersRacing 1-2 in FP3! ????@TonyArbolino continues to top the timesheets with team-mate @RomanoFenati close behind in second! ????#BritishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/o8nBH8mxGE
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) August 24, 2019
Conditions were cool for the lightweight class on Saturday morning, with a place in the top 14 still up for grabs. Home hero John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was an early improver to jump into P2 on the combined standings, while Fenati also improved his Friday time to go P6. Apart from three early crashes for Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race), Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alonso Lopez and Riccardo Rossi (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3), the opening stint of FP3 was fairly quiet.
With around 10 minutes to go, Championship contender Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) improved his overall time to go P5, with rival Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) crashing at Turn 4 – his session looked to be over. Then, Silverstone fell silent in anticipation of a final three-minute royal rumble for the top 14 – the riders only getting a single lap in due to the vast nature of the circuit, with many leaving it incredibly late to head out.
The championship leader is down! ????
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) August 24, 2019
After this crash, is @dallap48's place in Q2 now under threat? ????#BritishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/WWLJmk3KLe
The top two in the session missed out on a final flying lap – Arbolino and Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) – among a number of others. Plenty of riders did make it though and we were going to see some improvements. Ramirez launched himself into second before Fenati then made it a VNE Snipers 1-2. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) was able to improve too to cement his place in the top 14, with title contenders Canet and Dalla Porta safely through too.
Arbolino held onto P1 despite not getting a final flying lap in, with teammate Fenati and Ramirez making it a Honda 1-2-3. Antonelli slipped to P4 but he won’t mind that too much, McPhee claims a top-five at the end of Free Practice. The first KTM rider on the timesheets is Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) in sixth thanks to his Friday time, the Spaniard sits 0.380 off Arbolino as he edges out Canet by 0.011. Dalla Porta is eighth, just behind main title rival Canet, with Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completing the top 10.
Qualifying begins later today at 12:35 local time (GMT+1) with Q1. Tune in to see the fight for lightweight class pole live!
Top 10 combined:
1. Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) 2:11.844
2. Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) + 0.187
3. Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) + 0.250
4. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.256
5. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.292
6. Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) + 0.380
7. Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.391
8. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) + 0.408
9. Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) + 0.443
10. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.474
Click here for the full results!