Marc Marquez dominated third practice for the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix with an unofficial lap record, while Maverick Vinales missed the direct progression places into Q2.
Despite the near-perfect conditions, improvements on the combined times were few and far between for much of the 45-minute third session.
Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo – who, along with teammate Andrea Dovizioso was unable to put in a time attack on Friday due to a defective rear tyre – set the early pace on the individual FP3 timesheets with a 1:47.966s.
Friday pacesetter Andrea Iannone took over from the Spaniard with a 1:47.779s, which the Suzuki man improved to a 1:47.236s.
Dovizioso managed to jump up to eighth on the combined times from 12th in the opening stages, while Ducati stablemate Danilo Petrucci went fifth overall on his Pramac GP18.
Petrucci's teammate Jack Miller brushed off a fall at Correntaio 10 minutes into the session to go fourth on the combined times with 17 minutes remaining.
The timing screens began to light up in the final six minutes of the session as the field raced to secure safe passage into the second part of qualifying.
Home hero Valentino Rossi was the first big improver on his factory Yamaha with a 1:46.920s, which put him up to second.
Behind, Marc Marquez guided his Honda to an unofficial Mugello lap record of 1:46.439s just moments later to go over three tenths clear of the field.
Rossi jumped up to second on the FP3 times with a final effort of 1:46.775s, though Andrea Iannone's 1:46.735s from Friday kept him second overall, with Rossi third on the combined times.
Lorenzo ended the morning third on the individual classification, and fourth overall, to bag a place in Q2, with Johann Zarco lifting himself into the top 10 in fifth in the closing stages on his Tech3 Yamaha.
Petrucci found himself shuffled back to sixth ahead of Cal Crutchlow and Franco Morbidelli, while Alex Rins – who spent Friday and FP3 evaluating a new carbon covered frame – headed Dovizioso in ninth.
Rins' Q2 lap late on in FP3 pushed Vinales outside of the top 10 by just 0.036 seconds, who will face Miller and Dani Pedrosa among others in the opening 15-minute qualifying shootout later today.
Following his horror crash on Friday afternoon, Ducati wildcard Michele Pirro has been ruled out of starting his 50th grand prix.
Discussion about this post