Marc Marquez and his younger brother Alex dominated the timesheets in Saturday’s final practice for the Americas MotoGP, which was the first fully dry session of the weekend.
Marc, who topped Friday afternoon’s damp session in an all-Ducati top five, maintained his pace and ended FP3 with a 0.440-second lead over Alex on the Gresini Ducati.
While the Marquez brothers continued their strong form, there were some unexpected names close behind. Maverick Vinales, riding for Tech3 KTM and last year’s COTA winner with Aprilia, secured third place. Honda’s Joan Mir followed closely in fourth.
Francesco Bagnaia, Marc’s factory Ducati teammate, jumped from outside the top ten to finish fifth late in the session. Most riders opted for medium compound tyres front and rear, although Bagnaia used a soft rear throughout the session.
Luca Marini supported Mir’s performance by finishing sixth, ahead of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and VR46 riders Fabio di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli. KTM’s Pedro Acosta, who was tipped by Marquez on Friday as a contender along with Vinales, completed the top ten.
There was some drama during the session: rookie Ai Ogura crashed within the first five minutes, and Acosta and Alex Marquez appeared to hold each other up mid-session, along with Jack Miller, leading to visible frustration.
Qualifying 1 will now feature riders who missed the top ten on Friday, including Quartararo, Brad Binder, Marco Bezzecchi, Ai Ogura, and Luca Marini.
Marc Marquez heads into qualifying aiming to continue his undefeated streak as a factory Ducati rider at COTA, where he has already won seven times.
Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin, currently injured, was spotted at the circuit and could make his Aprilia debut at the next round in Qatar. In his absence, Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori is filling in. Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez is stepping in for injured Pramac rider Miguel Oliveira.
Last year, Vinales claimed a dominant double win for Aprilia at COTA, which was also the last time Ducati was beaten in a Grand Prix.
