Stefan Bradl led the Repsol Honda Team as he demonstrated incredible rainy weather aboard the RC213V. Alex Marquez was close behind when the pair showed top ten pace in qualifying.
Heavy rain in the early morning left the Ricardo Tormo Circuit soaked for free practice 3. The drivers were able to collect more valuable rainy seasons but missed the last chance to qualify for the second quarter. Weather continued to play an important role at the European GP as a downpour just before the RP4 put an end to the dry Valencia circuit chance on Saturday.
With no chance of improving his best time from Friday, Alex Marquez worked on the setup of his Honda RC213V in free practice 3 in wet weather and explored the options for the race on Sunday if it stayed wet. A 1,41,589 put the MotoGP rookie in seventh place in the session and later in the day showed strong potential for the first quarter. Alex improved by another three tenths in the 15-minute shootout and finished the session in fourth and less than half a second from a transfer seat. Alex will start the race on Sunday the 14th.
The wet conditions did not bother Stefan Bradl, who continued to draw on his many years of experience to regularly fight for the top positions. Bradl, 11th in FP3 and 9th in FP4, was full of confidence for the first quarter and was immediately on the right track. Bradl’s first quarter charges were cut by one lap when the HRC test driver fell at Turn 8 on his final lap as he pushed to the limit to finish in the top two. Uninjured, the German will finish 13th on the grid tomorrow, his best qualifying position since the 2016 Australian GP.
Takaaki Nakagami will start third on the front row after another strong Saturday as he chases his first podium in the Premier Class.
The 27-lap GP in Europe, scheduled for 2:00 p.m. local time, will be one of the closest races of the year with unpredictable weather and very limited dry running.