Le Mans MotoGP: Redding tops FP3, Pedrosa and Lorenzo slowest
Scott Redding led fellow Briton Cal Crutchlow in a drying third practice for MotoGP's French Grand Prix, as Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo finished at the bottom of the times.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Pramac Ducati’s Redding dominated the late shootout on slick tyres and reclaimed top spot after the chequered flag in a peculiar session where both KTMs secured Q2 places, while Pedrosa and Lorenzo finished more than five seconds off the pace.
After Friday’s wet sessions, further rain into the evening meant the circuit was damp-but-drying again on a sunny Saturday morning, with initial laps on wets four seconds off the pace set by Jack Miller in first practice.
In the early stages, Danilo Petrucci exiting Turn 1 and Maverick Vinales at Turn 6 ran wide but both stayed upright as riders lapped cautiously.
Midfield in the combined order after two sessions, Pedrosa and Ducati's Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso were the first riders to improve on their times set on Friday, 15 minutes in, Pedrosa moving into the lead of the session on a 1m41.354s.
Last-start winner Pedrosa and Lorenzo failed to improve thereafter, even having switched to slicks in the closing stages, and finished 22nd and 23rd, 5.680 seconds and 5.934s adrift.
Local hero Johann Zarco was the first to head out onto slicks, just before the midway point, followed by championship leader Valentino Rossi.
Times remained off those set on Friday with the third sector appearing the wettest, as Suzuki stand-in Sylvain Guintoli lost the front end in a low-speed crash at Turn 3 with 17 minutes remaining.
Redding was the first to make a serious move on slicks, setting a 1m39.614s to take top spot and move from 17th to fifth in the combined order.
Miller turned a 1m38.982s but then fell at Turn 3, as Redding improved again to a 1m38.942s and then 1m38.339s to move up to second overall as the shootout to claim one of the 10 guaranteed places in Q2 started.
Redding displaced Miller at the top of the order with seven minutes to go with a 1m37.435s, as Marc Marquez, Vinales and Rossi also made gains to slot into third, fourth and fifth behind the Aussie.
Crutchlow set a new benchmark of 1m36.461s, but was quickly displaced as Redding reclaimed top spot with a 1m36.340s with three minutes remaining.
Rossi and then Miller on his second Marc VDS Honda both spent time at the top inside the final 60 seconds, but Redding was not done, turning a 1m35.674s after the chequered flag finish fastest.
LCR Honda’s Crutchlow also improved on his final lap to finish 0.361 seconds behind, ahead of Miller, Rossi, Marquez and Karel Abraham.
The KTMs excelled in the mixed conditions, Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith setting the seventh- and 10th-fastest times to book places in Q2, in just the Austrian brand’s fifth full-time MotoGP start.
Vinales and Loris Baz took the other two spots in eighth and ninth, while just 0.068s ultimately split Smith in 10th and Petrucci in 14th.
Dovizioso was in that group in 12th, while Zarco crashed at Turn 11 in the closing stages and wound up 15th.
Free practice 3 results
# | Driver | Bike | Laps | Time | Gap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 45 | Scott Redding | Ducati | 18 | 1'35.674 | |
2 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 12 | 1'36.035 | 0.361 |
3 | 43 | Jack Miller | Honda | 10 | 1'36.122 | 0.448 |
4 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 22 | 1'36.185 | 0.511 |
5 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 16 | 1'36.354 | 0.680 |
6 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati | 13 | 1'36.497 | 0.823 |
7 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM | 17 | 1'36.612 | 0.938 |
8 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha | 15 | 1'36.616 | 0.942 |
9 | 76 | Loris Baz | Ducati | 17 | 1'36.752 | 1.078 |
10 | 38 | Bradley Smith | KTM | 15 | 1'36.805 | 1.131 |
11 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Ducati | 21 | 1'36.821 | 1.147 |
12 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 18 | 1'36.823 | 1.149 |
13 | 22 | Sam Lowes | Aprilia | 16 | 1'36.839 | 1.165 |
14 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | 18 | 1'36.873 | 1.199 |
15 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Yamaha | 18 | 1'37.464 | 1.790 |
16 | 94 | Jonas Folger | Yamaha | 13 | 1'37.610 | 1.936 |
17 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 18 | 1'37.772 | 2.098 |
18 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Honda | 22 | 1'38.888 | 3.214 |
19 | 50 | Sylvain Guintoli | Suzuki | 15 | 1'38.931 | 3.257 |
20 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 9 | 1'39.730 | 4.056 |
21 | 8 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | 19 | 1'40.373 | 4.699 |
22 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 17 | 1'41.354 | 5.680 |
23 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 20 | 1'41.608 | 5.934 |
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments