2018 Qatar Moto2 FP3 Result: Marquez Mugs Baldassarri

Hot tarmac and wind was the order of the day for the intermediate class, raising no expectations of improving on Friday’s times or learning much for the race. Nonetheless, they chased each other around for 45 minutes and fought for vaguely relevant supremacy.

Xavi Vierge spent most of his Friday outside of the top ten and decided he’s had enough on Saturday morning, the Dynavolt rider putting his bike at the top of the timesheets early in the session.  FP1 leader Lorenzo Baldassarri put an end to that in the final five minutes, when the battle heated up with red sectors all over the place. Meanwhile, Alex Marquez was living up to the surname by offering us noteworthy replays and running off track in every session he took part in this weekend. The Spaniard got it together in the very last minute to dip into the 2:01s and go two tenths faster than the opposition.

Baldassarri fought back but only cut the gap to one tenth and settled for second. Miguel Oliveira finished another tenth of a second down in third position, after a consistent top five placement throughout the session, while teammate Brad Binder made a late jump into fourth, three tenths down on the leader.

Luca Marini made a late bid for the top five, after nursing a hand injury early in the session. Vierge could not improve on his early session-topping time and dropped back to sixth, only a hundredth of a second keeping veteran/Moto2 newbie Hector Barbera at bay. Actual rookie Romano Fenati continued his rapid progression in the class with an eight position, four tenths off the leader and in deluxe company with Mattia Pasini in ninth, only two thousandths of a second slower.

The top ten was completed by Isaac Viñales, closely followed by Marcel Schrotter, two constant features at the business end throughout the weekend. A bit lower down, Pecco Bagnaia didn’t seem to push too much and finished the session in fifteenth position.

Results: