MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez topped the third practice session for the Valencia Grand Prix, while Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales missed the Q2 cut.
Improvements were few and far between in the cool conditions early in third practice, with only Marquez making a significant jump up the order with a 1m30.939s to go top in the session and third overall.
Honda stablemate Tito Rabat on the Marc VDS RC213V was Marquez’s nearest challenger in the session after 20 minutes, with a 1m31.55s putting him second on the individual session times and 12th overall.
Rabat’s charge was halted soon after, however, when he crashed at the Nieto corner while pushing to lower his benchmark further. At the same time, Tech3’s Johann Zarco demoted him to third in the session.
With a place in Q2 at stake, more riders began to register improvements in the closing stages of third practice, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and Marc VDS‘ Jack Miller – who crashed early in the session – leaping up to 10th and seventh respectively.
More personal best laps started to fly in, while the battle for top spot heated up between Marquez, Andrea Iannone – who was tailing the Spaniard – Zarco and Friday pacesetter Jorge Lorenzo.
Marquez was the first across the line of that quartet and posted a 1m30.255s, with Zarco slotting into second ahead of Iannone – the pair setting identical times of 1m30.501s.
Lorenzo was just over a tenth adrift in fourth, with the second factory Honda of Dani Pedrosa completing the top five ahead of Alex Rins, Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, team-mate Andrea Dovizioso and Miller.
Completing the top 10 was Valentino Rossi, who languished outside of the Q2 places for much of the session having struggled for pace around the Ricardo Tormo Circuit on his factory YZR-M1.
The Italian dug deep and produced a 1m31.098s on his final attempt to jump up to 10th, though team-mate Vinales – who struggled to get his M1 stopped and turned on Friday – could only manage 14th.
The Spaniard will go through Q1 along with Aleix Espargaro – who crashed at Turn 10 at the end of the session – and his brother Pol, who will start from pitlane on Sunday having had an engine outside of his allotment of nine for the season on Friday.
LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow was shuffled back to 13th at the death, while Danilo Petrucci failed to make it four GP17s in Q2 in 15th. Pramac team-mate Soctt Redding was a late faller, as was Rabat once more.
