Intermittent weather was a major player in the MotoGP action on Saturday from Valencia. Bradl was battling for 18th place when Alex Marquez walked off a wild highside.
Alex Marquez wanted to secure a place in the top ten and prevailed under the mixed conditions of Free Practice 3. The MotoGP rookie narrowly missed the top ten spot as the weather continued to change during the day and the rain started early in the first quarter.
When the rain threatened, Alex rushed out of the pits on slicks to try to set a time in the first quarter before the rain worsened. With a banker lap, Alex tried to improve but suffered a vicious high side at Turn 11 when trying to improve his lap time. Alex returned to the track defeated and injured, but returned to the pits immediately when his Q1 session came to an end. Alex underwent a series of medical exams and was diagnosed with bone marrow edema in the capitular bone of his left hand. Alex will do a warm up and then assess his condition.
Stefan Bradl had another calm, steady start to the day to avoid major risks in the tricky morning session and to work steadily on what he needed. Bradl worked in Free Practice 4 on Sunday and was able to improve his time throughout practice. With a best round of 1’31,500 he finished 12th. Like Alex, Bradl rushed on strike in the first quarter before the weather worsened. With a 1’31.831 Bradl was able to take eighth place in the session and will take 18th place on the grid for the race on Sunday.
LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami will line up on the front row. The Japanese driver has shown consistent front speed this weekend. This is Nakagami’s third consecutive front row start in 2020.
The penultimate race of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship starts at 2:00 p.m. local time after a warm-up at 10:00 a.m.