Barcelona MotoGP: Quartararo leads Vinales in FP3
Fabio Quartararo beat Yamaha stablemate Maverick Vinales by 0.044 seconds in MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix FP3 as championship leader Andrea Dovizioso missed a Q2 place.

The Ducatis struggled in the low-grip and windy conditions on Friday and didn’t do any running on soft rubber in FP2, which meant Danilo Petrucci went out on the compound at the start of FP3 and set the early pace with a 1m40.783s.
This was quickly beaten by Petronas’s Quartararo with a 1m40.476s, which he bettered to a 1m40.359s moments later.
Franco Morbidelli’s 1m39.789s from FP2 still stood as the fastest lap on combined times for the first half of the third session, though teammate Quartararo started to put this under threat with 15 minutes to go.
A brake issue for Quartararo at the end of FP2 stopped him from doing a time attack, but he made up for this with a 1m39.786s to go fastest overall.
Others joined Quartararo in switching to soft rubber as they placed their bids for an automatic Q2 place, with KTM’s Pol Espargaro edging ahead of the Petronas rider with a 1m39.756s.
Emilia Romagna race winner Vinales was the next rider to begin lighting up the timing screens, the Spaniard guiding his works Yamaha to a 1m39.687s with just over seven minutes to go.
Vinales found more time on his following tour to improve to a 1m39.462s to go just under two tenths clear of the field.
As the chequered flag came out, Vinales looked set to hold onto top spot – but Quartararo had other ideas, finding a sliver of time on his final effort to produce a 1m39.418s to head into qualifying this afternoon as the rider to beat.
Tech 3 KTM’s Miguel Oliveira leaped up to third late on ahead of Petrucci, whose final lap of 1m39.702s ensured he would be the only GP20-mounted Ducati rider in the top 10.
He creeped ahead of Avintia’s Johann Zarco on the year-old Ducati, with Pol Espargaro heading Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi on the Yamahas.
Brad Binder bagged a direct place into Q2 on his KTM late on in ninth, with Suzuki’s Joan Mir securing the final spot in 10th at the expense of Pramac pair Francesco Bagnaia, Jack Miller and the factory Ducati of Dovizioso.
Alex Rins also failed to make the Q2 cut in 14th on his Suzuki, with the LCR pair of Takaaki Nakagami and Cal Crutchlow also missing out after late crashes for both.
The conditions also caught out Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro in 17th and Tech 3’s Iker Lecuona in 21st, who registered his third crash of the weekend.
Such are the fine margins in MotoGP in 2020, the top 20 from Quartararo down to Avintia’s Tito Rabat were covered by just 0.923s.
FP3 results:
Cla | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | | ![]() | Yamaha | 1'39.418 | |
2 | | ![]() | Yamaha | 1'39.462 | 0.044 |
3 | | ![]() | KTM | 1'39.507 | 0.089 |
4 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'39.702 | 0.284 |
5 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'39.709 | 0.291 |
6 | | ![]() | KTM | 1'39.756 | 0.338 |
7 | | ![]() | Yamaha | 1'39.774 | 0.356 |
8 | | ![]() | Yamaha | 1'39.836 | 0.418 |
9 | | ![]() | KTM | 1'39.841 | 0.423 |
10 | | ![]() | Suzuki | 1'39.862 | 0.444 |
11 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'39.897 | 0.479 |
12 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'39.919 | 0.501 |
13 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'39.963 | 0.545 |
14 | | ![]() | Suzuki | 1'40.016 | 0.598 |
15 | | ![]() | Honda | 1'40.023 | 0.605 |
16 | | ![]() | Honda | 1'40.071 | 0.653 |
17 | | ![]() | Aprilia | 1'40.133 | 0.715 |
18 | | ![]() | Aprilia | 1'40.226 | 0.808 |
19 | | ![]() | Honda | 1'40.283 | 0.865 |
20 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'40.341 | 0.923 |
21 | | ![]() | Honda | 1'40.898 | 1.480 |
22 | | ![]() | KTM | 1'40.977 | 1.559 |
View full results |

Previous article
MotoGP on TV today – How can I watch qualifying for the Catalan GP?
Next article
Valentino Rossi’s Petronas Yamaha move finally announced

About this article
Series | MotoGP |
Event | Catalan GP |
Sub-event | FP3 |
Drivers | Fabio Quartararo |
Teams | SIC Racing Team |
Author | Lewis Duncan |
Barcelona MotoGP: Quartararo leads Vinales in FP3
Trending
Repsol Honda Team - Pol Espargaró Q&A
Repsol Honda Team - Marc Marquez Q&A
Why Alex Marquez doesn't care about 'shutting up' MotoGP critics
Alex Marquez's form was one of MotoGP 2020's biggest surprises and, by firmly stepping out of his six-time world champion brother Marc's shadow, he proved a few people wrong. Not that he cares about this, as he tells Lewis Duncan
How Yamaha's new MotoGP era can unchain Vinales
After the electrifying start to his Yamaha MotoGP career in 2017, Maverick Vinales has struggled for consistency. Many anticipate that the arrival of Fabio Quartararo could spell disaster, but the departure of Valentino Rossi could be just the impetus he needs.
Does KTM really need 'super engine' for MotoGP title challenge?
Fears from rival MotoGP manufacturers that KTM would build a 'super engine' for 2021 have ultimately come to nothing with the revealation that the RC16 hasn't been radically changed over the winter. But does it really need that to win the title?
How Ducati's latest Aussie union can return it to MotoGP glory
Australians on Ducatis is an iconic partnership, the marque's last one yielding its sole MotoGP crown to date. But its latest Aussie union with the often underestimated Jack Miller can end this drought.
The "balls out" battle between MotoGP's true greats
Senna vs Prost is regularly cited as motorsport's greatest rivalry. But it can easily be argued Rainey vs Schwantz can stake that claim. That rivalry was in full swing during the 1991 500cc season, remembered fondly by both stars 30 years on...
The "warrior" MotoGP rookie KTM was right to back
The 2020 MotoGP campaign featured a standout pair of rookies, but one flew under the radar as he adjusted to a shock step-up armed with very little racing experience. However as his veteran team boss explains, the faith shown in him was not misplaced
Why Suzuki's Brivio replacement must come from within
With its charismatic leader Davide Brivio leaving for Formula 1, the Suzuki MotoGP squad he turned into a world championship-winning force in 2020 has a major recruitment headache that it needs to resolve carefully.
Why Alpine's latest signing could be its best hope of F1 glory
The return of Fernando Alonso to the renamed Alpine team is a sure sign of the team's ambition. But its latest appointment from MotoGP could be an even bigger coup as it seeks to end a barren run stretching back to Alonso's 2006 world title