The Frenchman ousted Petronas SRT Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli at the end of the second practice session by just 0.021 seconds and took the top spot, while MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo on the factory Yamaha secured third place in time.
Immediately after signing a new KTM contract, Brad Binder secured fourth place ahead of Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in the second session of the Austrian manufacturer.
Maverick Vinales, who worked with new crew boss Silvano Galbusera for the first time since split from Esteban Garcia earlier this week, finished sixth on his factory Yamaha, while Jack Miller – traditionally fast on a Friday – only seventh place for Ducati.
Enea Bastianini impressed his two-year-old Avintia Ducati with eighth place and reacted strongly after his strange fall before the race at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend when Aleix Espargaro, leader of the FP1 timesheet, finished the afternoon session for Aprilia in ninth place .
With Pol Espargaro completing the top 10 and provisional automatic Q2 spots for Repsol Honda, it meant key front-runners like Marc Marquez and Joan Mir had to improve in FP3 while Valentino Rossi’s problems for Petronas SRT Yamaha continued in 19th place.
Alex Rins will miss the MotoGP race in Catalonia for Suzuki after breaking an arm during a training incident on Thursday.
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
When does qualifying for the Catalunya MotoGP start?
Qualifying for the MotoGP of Catalunya begins at 1:10 p.m. BST (2:10 p.m. local time) in the regular Q1 and Q2 session format. Qualifying takes place immediately after the 30-minute FP4 session, which is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. BST (1:30 p.m. local time).
The 10 fastest MotoGP riders on the combined FP1-2-3 timesheet automatically go into Q2, while the rest of the riders enter Q1 of qualifying. The two riders fastest in the 15-minute Q1 session will step into Q2 to compete with the top 10 from practice. Q2, which also lasts 15 minutes, decides on pole position and the qualifying sequence for the first four rows on the grid.
- Date: Saturday 5th June 2021
- Start time: 1:10 p.m. BST (2:10 p.m. local time)
How can I watch Catalunya MotoGP qualifying?
In the UK, every MotoGP practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on BT Sport.
Catalunya’s MotoGP qualifying will be broadcast on BT Sport 2, with the program starting at 11 a.m. CEST to also cover qualifying for the Moto3, Moto2 and MotoE classes.
MotoGP qualifying and the race will take place this weekend after Moto3, but before Moto2 and MotoE.
- TV channel: BT Sport 2
- Start time: 11:00 a.m. BST
MotoGP also has its own live online video streaming service that can be streamed in the UK.
What is the weather forecast for qualifying in Barcelona?
For qualifying in Barcelona on Saturday afternoon, sunny and cloudy weather conditions are forecast, but with a low probability of rain and maximum temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius – the same temperature as in the last qualifying for the Italian GP.