Mattia Pasini edged Alex Marquez in a tight final Moto2 practice in Texas ahead of this afternoon's qualifying session.
A light but brief shower towards the end of the preceding MotoGP session did nothing to affect track conditions for the start of Moto2 FP3, with Isaac Vinales the early pacesetter on his SAG Kalex with a 2:12.209s.
CGBM KTM's Iker Lecuona took over top spot from his Spanish compatriot just moments later with a 2:11.985s, which he improved by over four tenths to a 2:11.408s next time around.
At the same time, the rain returned, though it was light enough to avoid disruption. With 15 minutes gone, Kiefer Racing's Dominique Aegerter shot to the head of the field with a 2:11.342s, though this was immediately bettered by Marquez with a 2:11,169s.
The Marc VDS rider's time stood as the benchmark until the final seven minutes, when championship leader Pasini edged ahead by just 0.034 seconds.
With more rain arriving just as the Italian clocked his 2:11.135s, his place as the top of timesheets was secure, with Marquez, 2015 CoTA race winner Sam Lowes and Friday pacesetter Miguel Oliveira behind.
Aegerter was shuffled back to fifth at the chequered flag ahead of early leader Lecuona, while Qatar race winner Francesco Bagnaia guided his Sky VR46 Kalex to a somewhat low-key seventh.
Joan Mir made it two Marc VDS riders inside the top 10 in FP3 after a late effort of 2:11.540s, the reigning Moto3 champion jumping ahead of Xavi Vierge and Vinales.
American Joe Roberts was the only faller in the session, the NTS rider suffering a small crash at the Turn 11 hairpin. Unscathed in the incident, Roberts ended the morning 28th.
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