Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) flew to the top of the timesheets during Saturday morning's Practice 3 at the MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix as his 1:36.403 labeled him as the rider to beat going into qualifying. In typical Moto3™ fashion, the order was decided by a flurry of fast laps in the closing stages. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) put in a solid lap as he went best of rest in P2 ahead of the home hero Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP). A late crash for Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) saw the yellow flags come out which meant laps were subsequently canceled, the most notable being title contender Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who will face Q1 after finishing in P18.
The Crazy Boy on fire this morning! 👏@AyumuSasaki1 holds the advantage as attentions turn to qualifying! 🔝#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/5igAdCrdgG
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 20, 2023
With the top 14 now decided, the stage is set ahead of qualifying action later on. It was a good day for Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) who proved his worth on the world stage in P4. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) rounded out the top five ahead of Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) and Kaito Toba (SIC58 Squadra Corse). Despite his late off Collin Veijer grabbed a Q2 spot in P8 ahead of the rookie sensation David Alonso (GASGAS Aspar Team), with Championship leader Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) rounding out the top ten.
Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) was another who hit the deck but did grab an automatic Q2 place in P11. The Brazilian finished just 0.052s ahead of Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) with Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Vicente Perez (BOE Motorsports) taking the final Q2 spots.
Next up for Moto3™ is qualifying at 13:20 local time (GMT +11), in the meantime you can keep up to date with everything from the MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix on motogp.com
| 1 | Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) | 1:36.403 |
| 2 | Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +0.134 |
| 3 | Joel Kelso (CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) | +0.163 |
| 4 | Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) | +0.383 |
| 5 | David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) | +0.388 |
| 6 | Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) | +0.461 |
| 7 | Kaito Toba (SIC58 Squadra Corse) | +0.532 |
| 8 | Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) | +0.574 |
| 9 | David Alonso (GASGAS Aspar Team) | +0.668 |
| 10 | Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) | +0.678 |
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