MotoGP Aragon: Miller heads Ducati lockout in FP3

Ducati was firmly in control at Motorland Aragon with a top five lockout led by Lenovo’s Jack Miller on Saturday morning.

Pecco Bagnaia trailed his teammate by a mere 0.03s at the close of free practice three with Mooney VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi completing the closely matched top three just two-hundredths of a second behind. The entire top five covered by less than a tenth after 45-minutes on track.

Bezzecchi was the first on the pace as FP3 fired up on Saturday morning. The Italian taking command of the session standings as he circulated with a 1’47.995, half a second adrift of the outright target but placing him 14th overall. Fellow Ducati rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio sat second on the Gresini, a quarter of a second behind with Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo running third.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez was back to his best with a classic save at the final corner after ten minutes on track. Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro advancing to third with his fifth lap as WithU Yamaha’s Darryn Binder rose to fifth thanks to a 1’48.5.

Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir was the first inside the top ten to advance the pace, the 2020 Champion setting a 1’47.763 on his return from injury as he claimed ninth overall at the halfway stage. The second returnee, Marquez, suffering his first crash with an early slide at turn seven, before the eight-time champ was quickly up on his feet and heading back to the box.

LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami was the next to improve as he advanced to eighth overall. The move dropping Mir to the edge of the promotion zone with Miller demoted out. The Japanese rider continuing his climb with a P4-worthy 1’47.549 lap next time around.

The times began to ignite as the final 15 minutes counted down. Alex Rins demoting his