MotoGP™: Marc and Miller set the pace in third practice
Saturday, 15 October 2022
The Spanish rider waited until the final moments to take the top time.
Marc Marquez and Jack Miller made the headlines at Phillip Island on Saturday morning after an exhilarating third Practice session for the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2022.
Miller strode into the top 10 to ensure his ticket into the second Qualifying session, while Marquez waited until the final moments of the 45-minute session to take the top time away from the Ducati-mounted hordes, with a time of 1m28.952s on his Repsol Honda – without the use of the rear wings he tested on Friday.
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The six-time MotoGP™ champion had to dig deep to set the fastest time, as at one stage, he had to give his best to his own brother Alex, who wound up seventh fastest on his LCR Honda.
Speaking of brothers, it was the half-brother of the great Valentino Rossi, Luca Marini, who held sway until the final moments of the session, the Italian finishing the session in P2 on the Mooney VR46 Ducati.
The MAR-MAR-MAR march continued in third place, with Spanish ace Jorge Martin third fastest for the Prima Pramac Ducati team.
Aleix Espargaro was the fastest of the title contenders. The Aprilia rider set the fourth-fastest time on his RS-GP, which looks to be well-suited to the track and for a race that he admitted on Friday he has to win to maintain his title hopes.
Marco Bezzecchi continued his solid Friday form with the fifth fastest time, just ahead of Miller. The Townsville rider timed his fast laps to perfection, leaping from 21st place to what was at the time third fastest, ensuring that his seeding into the Q2 session was safe.
Right behind Miller and Alex Marquez were Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Corse) and Maverick Viñales on the second Aprilia, who is being tipped by many as a dark horse to win Sundays' race.
The tenth place would have eased a lot of tensions in the Yamaha Racing garage. Fabio Quartararo scraped into the second Qualifying session by a mere 0.045s after a dash around the track in the final minute of the session. The points leader just eased out countryman Johann Zarco, who set the pace on Friday but who will look to take one of the two spots on offer in the first Qualifying session to advance up the grid.
Outside the top 10 was Enea Bastianini, who still has a mathematical chance of taking the MotoGP™ title, had to settle for 14th, in spite of setting a new record top speed for the track of 354.1kmh on his Gresini Ducati.
Remy Gardner finished the session in 22nd place, just behind fellow KTM riders Raul Fernandez and Brad Binder.
The riders will return to the track at 1:30 pm for the fourth and final Practice session, ahead of the all-important first Qualifying session at 2:10 pm.
