BURIRAM: Spain's Jorge Martin has topped the Thai MotoGP practice time sheet Saturday ahead of an in-form Australian Jack Miller.
Conditions were dry during Saturday morning's practice at the international circuit at Buriram, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Bangkok, despite a cloudy sky and forecasts for rain.
Martin, riding Ducati clocked the fastest lap, 1:30.2050 Saturday while Miller, fresh from last week's MotoGP victory in Japan, was 0.012 secs behind the pace.
Stellar performances at Friday's practice sessions by Frenchman Johann Zarco and title contender Italian Francesco Bagnaia helped them secure third and fourth spots respectively in the combined results.
Quartararo -- who has an 18-point lead in the championship standings over Bagnaia, with four races left -- finished in fifth spot.
It was a disappointing morning for six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez, riding Honda, and serious title contender Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro, both from Spain -- failing to finish in the top 10.
MotoGP has returned to Thailand for the first time since 2019 because of coronavirus disruptions.
Leading times from the combined three practice sessions for the Thai Grand Prix:
1. Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) 1min30.205sec, 2. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati)at 0.012sec, 3. Johann Zarco (FRA/Ducati-Pramac) 0.076, 4.Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 0.094, 5. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 0.105, 6. Brad Binder (AFS/KTM)0.200, 7. Alex Rins (ESP/Suzuki) 0.239, 8. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati-Gresini) 0.287, 9. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.308, 10. Luca Marini (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.311. - AFP
