Another Free Practice session, another new All Time Lap Record at the Sachsenring. That was the story of MotoGP™ FP3 at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland as the Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia fended off the challenge of Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro for now. Pecco had only just set a new fastest ever lap around the German circuit on Friday afternoon, and he was the most rapid among a total of five riders to go even quicker again on Saturday morning when he set a 1:19.765.

No one had ever lapped the Sachsenring in less than 80 seconds before the MotoGP™ field arrived this weekend, and even Bagnaia came up 0.018 seconds shy of doing so in FP2. Aleix Espargaro then went tantalisingly close when he twice reset the Ducati rider’s brand-new All Time Lap Record with just over 10 minutes remaining in FP3, with a 1:20.013 and a 1:20.007 on back-to-back laps. He might have even lost some time when he happened upon Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) at the end of the latter lap, gesticulating at the Italian as a 1:19 continued to elude him.

Enter Bagnaia himself, who reclaimed top spot with a 1:19.833 and followed it up immediately with a 1:19.765, just over a quarter of a second quicker than he had gone in the second session of the weekend. Ducati Lenovo team-mate Jack Miller, who was on a hot lap with eight minutes to go when he was held up as Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), regrouped to slot into second with a 1:19.873 in the final four minutes. An all-Desmosedici top two was on the cards for the third session in a row until Aleix Espargaro fired in a 1:19.829 moments later on his RS-GP, and that was how the top three would finish.

The twisty Sachsenring is not a track that should traditionally suit the Bologna bullets but Ducati has a well-rounded package these days, and their depth was on display when Prima Pramac Racing got both of its riders into the top five. Zarco and Jorge Martin both beat the by then-vanquished 1:20.018 All Time Lap Record from FP2 when they set a 1:19.959 and a 1:19.969 respectively. The fifth and final Desmosedici GP22 rider in the field, Mooney VR46 Racing Team’s Luca Marini, finished eighth on a 1:20.133.

The drama was not confined to the stopwatch, though, and World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo contributed to it even if he did get his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ entry safely into Q2 with a 1:20.038 which left him sixth-quickest. He, like Aleix Espargaro, had an early excursion through the gravel at Turn 1 but the more remarkable moment was when the visor on the Frenchman’s crash helmet came loose with a couple of minutes to go. After trying to thump it back into place, Quartararo had to relent to pit lane to address the problem, but it would not cost him too much in the end.

Rounding out the top 10 were Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in seventh, from Marini, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing). Nakagami earned an automatic berth in the second stanza of qualifying this afternoon despite a late spill at Turn 1, while Viñales’ margin over the 11th-quickest rider, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), was just 0.020 seconds.

Oliveira will therefore have to go the long way if he is to fight for pole position in Germany, even though he was only half a second – exactly – slower than Bagnaia went. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) finished 12th-fastest after an early crash at Turn 12, while Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) is 17th on combined times courtesy of his FP2 exploits, as he presses on with a fractured wrist. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) will be looking to improve on 18th on the timesheet, while Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) is 23rd after a late crash in FP3.

If that was ‘only’ FP3, then Q2 promises to be even more exhilarating again. It’s time to work on race pace when FP4 gets underway on Saturday at 13:30, then it’s Q1 at 14:10 (GMT +2).

MotoGP™ Top 10:
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1:19.765
2. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 0.064
3. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.108
4. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.194
5. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.204
6. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.273
7. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.333
8. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.368
9. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) + 0.416
10. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.480