Vinales fastest with Pedrosa, Iannone and Redding missing cut

In the all important FP3 session Suzuki’s engine upgrades saw Maverick Vinales set the pace with Aleix Espargaro also in the top three. The Suzuki now has much more power than before, almost as much as the Yamaha, and the Spaniards put it to good use this morning to ensure a spot in the QP2 session.

Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding all missed out on a top ten spot and will have to fight through the opening fifteen minutes of qualifying with the top two making it through to QP2. The softer Bridgestone tyre offers a considerable advantage here this weekend so it should make for a facsinating session this afternoon.

Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith both made it through to QP2 but had to sweat at the end after Valentino Rossi, who had struggled all weekend for one lap pace, finally made his move and vaulted to sixth fastest.