Jerez MotoGP FP3: Pedrosa Again Quickest

2012 MotoGP

The wet conditions at Jerez continued Saturday for the third and final free practice session (FP3), and once again Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was quickest.

The home favorite posted a 1:50.121 aboard the RC213V donning Bridgestone wet tires. Pedrosa used the wet tires throughout the 45-minute session, testing the longevity of them since it’s supposed to rain during Sunday’s GP.

But only 0.111 of a second behind was another home favorite, last year’s Jerez MotoGP winner Jorge Lorenzo. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider, who has the points lead after winning the season opener at Qatar earlier this month, beat out the other Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner by 0.223.

Fourth quickest at FP3 was Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, who trailed Pedrosa by 0.374, with Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow in fifth, 0.571 of a second behind the leader. Crutchlow was also the final rider to post within a second of Pedrsoa.

The gap was significant between the top five riders, with Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi sixth fastest 0.909 behind Crutchlow, and 1.480 seconds behind Pedrosa. Rossi, who was second fastest during Friday’s wet FP2, was followed by Crutchlow’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso, LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl and Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati’s Karl Abraham.

Taking the 10th fastest time was Power Electronics Aspar CRT’s Randy de Puniet, who posted a 1:51.972.

MotoGP says: “With many riders showing their potential form for qualifying, a question mark still remains over how the wet tires would fare in a full race, as many riders looked to have worn them down significantly in a matter of around 15 laps. Hence tire conservation, instead of out-and-out speed could be the key should the weather remain the same.”

The riders will be back on the Jerez circuit this afternoon for qualifying ahead of Sunday’s MotoGP.

2012 Jerez MotoGP: Free Practice 3 Results: