.jpg)
2011 MotoGP
The reigning MotoGP Champion, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo, began on top Saturday in Sachsenring, Germany, the Spaniard leading the third and final free practice session before qualifying.
But it didn’t appear as if Lorenzo would set the pace on Saturday. Earlier in the FP3 session, the Italian who lead the first two practices, Marco Simoncelli, was leading the 17-rider grid.
But the San Carlo Honda Gresini rider had a crash in the fast turn 11 with 15 minutes remaining. Simoncelli was able to rejoin, but couldn’t catch Lorenzo or the second fastest rider in FP3, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa, who won last year’s Germany MotoGP round, would finish FP3 0.041 of a second behind Lorenzo, with Simoncelli posting a 1:22.159, 0.047 behind Lorenzo.
The current MotoGP leader, Casey Stoner, placed his Repsol Honda RC212V in the fourth fastest position, 0.274 of a second behind Lorenzo. Stoner’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso was 0.055 of a second further back.
As for nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi, the Italian piloted his Ducati Team GP11.1 to a 12th-fastest pace in FP3. Also, Loris Capirossi, who continues to recover from his crash at Assen, didn’t participate in FP3; World Superbike rider Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert-Liberty Ducati) substituted for Capirossi aboard the Pramac Racing Ducati GP11.
Next up is qualifying before Sunday’s MotoGP at Sachsenring, Germany.
2011 Sachsenring MotoGP: Free Practice 3 Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 280.7 | 1’22.112 | |
| 2. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 283.9 | 1’22.153 | 0.041 / 0.041 |
| 3. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 279.4 | 1’22.159 | 0.047 / 0.006 |
| 4. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 283.9 | 1’22.386 | 0.274 / 0.227 |
| 5. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 281.6 | 1’22.441 | 0.329 / 0.055 |
| 6. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 277.3 | 1’22.500 | 0.388 / 0.059 |
| 7. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 280.4 | 1’22.594 | 0.482 / 0.094 |
| 8. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 275.2 | 1’22.772 | 0.660 / 0.178 |
| 9. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 274.2 | 1’22.841 | 0.729 / 0.069 |
| 10. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 275.5 | 1’23.118 | 1.006 / 0.277 |
| 11. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 274.0 | 1’23.268 | 1.156 / 0.150 |
| 12. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 279.2 | 1’23.279 | 1.167 / 0.011 |
| 13. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 275.0 | 1’23.296 | 1.184 / 0.017 |
| 14. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 281.5 | 1’23.362 | 1.250 / 0.066 |
| 15. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 277.8 | 1’23.393 | 1.281 / 0.031 |
| 16. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 279.6 | 1’24.246 | 2.134 / 0.853 |
| 17. | 50 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 272.6 | 1’25.975 | 3.863 / 1.729 |
