Practice report
MotoGP Qatar GP
Qatar MotoGP: Iannone keeps Ducati on top in third practice
Andrea Iannone set a blistering pace in the third free practice session of the Qatar MotoGP weekend to beat Jorge Lorenzo and keep Ducati atop the timesheets.
Jamie Klein
Edited: Mar 19, 2016, 9:38 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
It was Dani Pedrosa who was first to bust Iannone's best time from second practice, the Repsol Honda man setting a 1m55.357s that went unchallenged until the final 10 minutes.
Iannone's Ducati teammate Andrea Dovizioso then lowered the bar to a 1m55.239s, before Lorenzo snatched away the top spot with a time just 0.020s faster.
The reigning champion subsequently put his Yamaha a full 0.463s clear of the field on his next flying lap, a 1m54.776s, but moments later Iannone was able to respond with a 1m54.639s, a full seven tenths faster than his best from earlier in the day.
Lorenzo was thus forced to settle for second, with Marc Marquez slotting into third and ending up best of the Hondas, 0.196s off the pace.
Dovizioso made a late move to fourth at the expense of Suzuki rider Maverick Vinales, Pedrosa ending up being demoted to sixth at the chequered flag.
Valentino Rossi was seventh for Yamaha, 0.536s off the pace, with Hector Barbera (Avintia Ducati), Scott Redding - who crashed his Pramac Ducati at Turn 13 at the end of the session - and Pol Espargaro (Tech 3 Yamaha) rounding off the top 10.
Espargaro's teammate Bradley Smith suffered his second crash of the weekend at Turn 6, and, after setting only the 12th-best time, will have to battle his way through the first phase of qualifying on Saturday.
Jack Miller was the only other man to fall during the session, losing his Marc VDS Honda at Turn 9 late in the session on his way to the 17th best time.
Practice times:
PosRiderBikeTimeGap 1 
Andrea Iannone Ducati Desmosedici GP16 1:54.639 1:54.639 2 
Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha YZR-M1 1:54.776 +0.137 3 Marc Marquez Honda RC213V 1:54.835 +0.196 4 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Desmosedici GP16 1:54.945 +0.306 5 Maverick Vinales Suzuki GSX-RR 1:54.976 +0.337 6 Dani Pedrosa Honda RC213V 1:55.113 +0.474 7 Valentino Rossi Yamaha YZR-M1 1:55.175 +0.536 8 Hector Barbera Ducati Desmosedici GP14 1:55.323 +0.684 9 
Scott Redding Ducati Desmosedici GP15 1:55.399 +0.760 10 Pol Espargaro Yamaha YZR-M1 1:55.476 +0.837 11 Aleix Espargaro Suzuki GSX-RR 1:55.491 +0.852 12 Bradley Smith Yamaha YZR-M1 1:55.505 +0.866 13 
Loris Baz Ducati Desmosedici GP14 1:55.773 +1.134 14 Danilo Petrucci Ducati Desmosedici GP15 1:55.931 +1.292 15 Cal Crutchlow Honda RC213V 1:55.946 +1.307 16 
Yonny Hernandez Ducati Desmosedici GP14 1:56.100 +1.461 17 
Jack Miller Honda RC213V 1:56.207 +1.568 18 Tito Rabat Honda RC213V 1:56.625 +1.986 19 Alvaro Bautista Aprilia RS-GP 1:56.749 +2.110 20 
Stefan Bradl Aprilia RS-GP 1:57.069 +2.430 21 
Eugene Laverty Ducati Desmosedici GP14 1:57.135 +2.496
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Redding: Pramac switch has given me "different mentality"
Next article Rossi aims for second-row grid slot in Qatar MotoGP opener
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jamie Klein
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
1 mo
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
1 mo
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
More from
Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo: Marc Marquez less explosive now, but smarter than ever
MotoGP
MotoGP
German GP
3 mo
Jorge Lorenzo: Marc Marquez less explosive now, but smarter than ever
Maverick Vinales and Jorge Lorenzo's partnership cools down after early enthusiasm
MotoGP
MotoGP
Brazil GP
7 mo
Maverick Vinales and Jorge Lorenzo's partnership cools down after early enthusiasm
How Jorge Lorenzo is pushing Maverick Vinales beyond his limits in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing launch
8 mo
How Jorge Lorenzo is pushing Maverick Vinales beyond his limits in MotoGP
More from
Ducati Team
With the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix over, it is time to heal the wounds
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
1 d
With the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix over, it is time to heal the wounds
Jorge Lorenzo describes Marc Marquez as “the Ayrton Senna of motorcycling”
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
2 d
Jorge Lorenzo describes Marc Marquez as “the Ayrton Senna of motorcycling”
Latest news
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 13 min
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 37 min
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
1 h
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe