Romano Fenati topped a damp final practice for the Moto3 class ahead of the British Grand Prix after switching to slicks in the closing minutes of the session.
Fenati was first out on track when proceedings got underway this morning after he lost vital track time on Friday morning to a fuel pump issue.
The Italian set the benchmark at 2m30.031s in the tricky conditions, which he bettered with 12 minutes on the clock to a 2m27.190s.
Championship leader Joan Mir met the challenge set by the Italian, the Leopard rider edging ahead with a 2m27.044s.
With the track sufficiently dry, Fenati went out on slicks for the final six minutes, and immediately set the timing screens ablaze. His first effort of 2m23.252s comfortably returned him to the top of the timesheets, while his next lap of 2m20.880s put him four seconds clear of the field.
A late flurry of laps saw Lorenzo Dalla Porta jump up to second on his Aspar Mahindra ahead of 2015 British Grand Prix podium finisher Jakub Kornfeil.
Mir was shuffled back to fourth at the chequered flag, with home hero John McPhee completing the top five from Juanfran Guevara, who led the session briefly at the midway point.
Wildcard Tom Booth-Amos used his past experience of Silverstone to go an impressive seventh quickest in third practice, with wet weather specialists Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, Booth-Amos’ team-mate Jake Archer and Marco Bezzecchi completing the top 10.
Friday’s fastest man Aron Canet took third practice steady, and ended the session down in 20th. However, he remains top of the combined times heading into qualifying thanks to his 2m13.320s set in second practice.
Jorge Martin did not venture out on circuit, the Gresini rider preferring not to risk further damaging his ankle in the dodgy conditions.
