Rins, Crutchlow and Rabat set the pace in FP3 at Jerez

The World Motorcycle Championship kicked off Saturday’s action with free practice for the three categories at the Jerez Circuit, where Álex Rins has been the fastest in Moto3, while in MotoGP it was Cal Crutchlow and in Moto2, Tito Rabat.

The first riders to hit the track were from the smallest category, with a very strong Rins and a lot of action on the circuit, with the fastest lap set by number 42 at 1:46.938, just over a tenth ahead of his main rival, Jonas Folger. Meanwhile, third place went to Jack Miller, who surprised everyone, finishing more than four tenths back.

The top 10 of this FP3 was Salom 4th, Ajo 5th, Mcphee 6th, Binder 7th, Khairuddin 8th, Antonelli 9th and 10th Márquez. For the rest of the Spanish riders, the positions were 12th M. Viñales, Vázquez 20th, I. Viñales 23rd, Carrasco 24th, Guevara 25th and Navarro 28th.

The next riders to hit the Andalusian track were from MotoGP, with a very strong Cal Crutchlow demonstrating that his Yamaha satellite team works very well, setting a time of 1:38.975, leaving the closest rider just 0.019s behind, Dani Pedrosa. The top three riders are very close together, as Jorge Lorenzo was 3rd and is only 0.103s off the leader, while Rossi was 4th and only 0.130s behind.

From the fourth position onwards the gap is bigger, but the top 10 will go directly to Q2, with these riders being Dovi 5th, Márquez 6th, Barberá 7th, Hayden 8th, Iannone 9th and 10th Bautista. We also want to mention the pace of Aleix Espargaró: the 41 was for several minutes in the Q2 zone, but in the end it was not possible, though as always he showed plenty of skill in every corner.

Meanwhile, the last riders to take to the track were from Moto2, with a very strong Tito Rabat who was the only one to break the 1:43 barrier, so the 80 was the fastest in this FP3 with a time of 1:42.967, leaving his main rival, Pol Espargaró, just over two tenths behind, making for plenty of excitement on track. Behind them, Nico Terol finished almost half a second back, but the three Spanish riders were the reference points in these free practice sessions for the intermediate category.

The top 10 was completed by Redding 4th, Nakagami 5th, Elías 6th, Torres 7th, Schrotter 8th, Kallio 9th and 10th Aegerter. Meanwhile, the rest of the Spanish riders finished 12th Simón, Pons 18th, Smith 22nd, Cardús 25th, Rivas 26th, Mariñelarena 30th, Moncayo 32nd.

Onwards to the QPs.

Photo | MotoGP Official website