Marc Marquez once again topped practice for Honda at the German Grand Prix ahead of Petronas Yamaha SRT's Fabio Quartararo, as the pair battle for top billing this weekend once again.
Marquez posted a late time of 1:20.347 in third practice to jump to the top of the standings, dethroning Quartararo by 0.168s, whilst Assen winner Maverick Vinales was third quickest, a further tenth back.
There was disappointment for both Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso, as the duo missed out on the top ten.
With the sun shining and higher temperatures compared to Friday, riders were utilising the harder tyre over the soft on the rear, which Michelin Motorsport boss Piere Taramasso said provided extra stability.
"The hard rear tyre gives you more stability, the rear is more stable, it gives you more confidence and you can push more.
"The soft one is also designed for lower temperatures, the hard is designed for higher temperatures, this is the situation for the afternoon."
Two riders to make big gains on the hard tyre were Suzuki's Joan Mir, as well as Vinales, who both posted their most competitive laps on the compound.
Mir popped up to P5 with just ten minutes of the session remaining, before a raft of improvements from Cal Crutchlow, P14 to P4, Alex Rins, Franco Morbidelli and Danilo Petrucci pushed Mir down to ninth behind Jack Miller.
At that stage Marquez was P3, but a final flyer moved him to the very top of the times and the Spaniard heads into qualifying with the confidence to know he has time in hand.
Pol Espargaro completed the top ten – despite a late crash at Turn 3 – to secure his Q2 spot.
Discussion about this post