Leopard Racing’s Marcos Ramirez will head into Moto3™ qualifying at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana as the man to beat after going P1 overall in FP3. A 1:39.492 on his penultimate flying lap sees the Spaniard lead teammate Lorenzo Dalla Porta by 0.029, with Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) also improving in FP3 to sit P3.
A very cold morning in Valencia meant the lightweight class riders weren’t able to fully attack to try and better their Friday times from the get-go. The overall standings were very stagnant, with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) the only improver in P15 with 15 minutes remaining. The sun was out and the track was slowly coming to the riders and as the clock ticked down to the 10-minute mark, there were a few riders going faster than they did on Friday. Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) and Canet were those riders inside the top 14 and with three minutes to go, it was time for a Moto3™ one lap dash.
Almost all of the field rushed out of pitlane together but Leopard Racing’s Ramirez and Dalla Porta didn’t. Prety much alone on circuit, with Ramirez chasing Dalla Porta, the sky blue machines were laying down the rubber and went P1 and P2 overall to displace Friday pacesetter Jaume Masia (Mugen Race). Canet was also able to find time and shot up to P3, with Arbolino and John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) the other riders inside the top 10 to go faster on Saturday morning.
Behind the top three sits Masia, with Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), wildcard Xavier Artigas (Leopard Impala Junior Team) and Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) sitting comfortably inside the top 10 thanks to their FP2 times. The come Arbolino and McPhee, with Andrea Migno (Mugen Race) completing the top 10 heading into qualifying this afternoon.
Teamwork pays off as @Le0pardRacing secure a 1-2 in FP3! ????@24Marcosramirez tops the session ahead of @dallap48! ????#ValenciaGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/HgCo8kdPpk
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) November 16, 2019
Öncü and Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) crashed on their final flying laps when pushing for improvements, riders ok. Both of those guys will have to scrap it out in Q1 at 12:35 local time (GMT+1).
Top 10:
1. Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) – 1:39.492
2. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) + 0.029
3. Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.065
4. Jaume Masia (Mugen Racing) + 0.120
5. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) + 0.189
6. Xavier Artigas (Leopard Impala Junior Team) + 0.364
7. Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) + 0.403
8. Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) + 0.435
9. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.462
10. Andrea Migno (Mugen Race) + 0.466
Click here for the full results!