MotoGP Sachsenring, FP3: Marquez dominates, Rossi and Lorenzo in Q2

German GP MotoGP Free practice 3 – The weather gave a reprieve at the Sachsenring (ninth race and turning point of the 2017 world championship) and the MotoGP class riders were able to tackle Free Practice 3 in the dry. The session, like the other two free practices yesterday, was extended by 10 minutes to allow Michelin to collect data for the race on a track that was resurfaced, but where no one was able to test.

Since FP2 was held in the rain, all the drivers immediately took to the track in search of the best performance. Incredible but true, Valentino Rossi immediately had the same problem as in FP1, with the bike disabled and the rider on foot. The bike that had the problem is once again the one with the chassis that Rossi likes best, who returned to the pits and restarted with a long delay, given that the second bike was not ready to tackle FP2 immediately.

The situation at Yamaha is "grotesque", there is a world title up for grabs and every little mistake pays off and in a team like the official one from the Tre Diapason company certain things shouldn't happen.

Returning to FP3, the fastest was the reigning champion Marc Marquez, who is a real star at the Sachsenring. The Honda riders stopped the clock at a time of 1:20.745, a time that allowed them to beat their Yamaha compatriot Maverick Vinales by 0.170s. However, what is impressive about the #93 is the race pace, which is currently unsustainable for everyone.

Third time for the home rider and rookie Jonas Folger. The Team Tech 3 rider also led the session and eventually fell behind Aleix Espargarò's Aprilia and Cal Crutchlow's Team LCR Honda.

Valentino Rossi made a "patch" and, after the initial problem, finished sixth, 0.566s from the top and ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, who, like the Pesaro native, entered directly into Q2. Also in the Top Ten are Andrea Dovizioso, Dani Pedrosa and Alvaro Bautista.

Also outside the ten and forced into Q1 are Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Pramac, who crashed without consequences in the crucial phase of FP3), Johann Zarco and Andrea Iannone, among others.

Photos: Alex Farinelli