Johann Zarco headed Jack Miller in the third MotoGP practice from Qatar, while Maverick Vinales missed the cut for Q2.
With conditions far hotter than they were on Friday, improvements on the combined times were few and far between, which meant the entrants for both qualifying sessions were secured based on FP2 times.
As a result, Yamaha's Vinales – who was 20th in FP3 – will face Q1 later this evening, having struggled for pace on Friday with the bike's electronics.
Teammate Valentino Rossi was ninth after second practice and will head straight into the pole shootout session, though his day got off to a tricky start.
A fast crash at Turn 5 in the opening minutes halted his running, though he was able to return to the track on his second bike and shot to the top of the timesheets briefly with a 1:56.049s, deposing Pramac's Danilo Petrucci – who will also head into Q2 after ending Friday second overall.
Rossi was bumped back, first by Tech3's Johann Zarco with a 1:55.553, and then by Friday pacesetter Andrea Dovizioso, who slotted into second spot.
Zarco – who will join Dovizioso in Q2 – cemented his position at the top of the FP3 timesheets with a final gambit of 1:54.966s, which proved only a few hundredths shy of his best from Friday.
Pramac's Jack Miller threatened a late improvement on the overall times, but just missed out in the end and remains 14th overall – though his 1:55.463 did put him second in FP3 ahead of Petrucci.
Marc Marquez slotted into fourth ahead of Suzuki's Andrea Iannone and Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, all three securing their places in Q2 on Friday.
Dovizioso was shuffled back to seventh by the chequered flag having opted to play it safe in FP3, though still pipped teammate Jorge Lorenzo.
Rossi was struck by more misfortune on his final lap, as the bellypan on his M1 came loose as he began his last tour. The Italian was quick to detect the problem and remained ninth, with LCR's Cal Crutchlow completing the top ten – the aforementioned three making it into Q2.
The last rider making direct passage into Q2 is Suzuki's Alex Rins, who was third after second practice. Taking things steady in the third session, the Spaniard was 13th ahead of Avintia's Tito Rabat, who suffered a late fall at Turn 14.
The only rider to improve on his Friday time was Rabat's teammate Xavier Simeon, the Belgian rookie managing a 1:57.519s late in the session, though remained last of the 24-strong field on the combined standings.
