Miller fastest in Valencia MotoGP practice, Bagnaia ninth

VALENCIA, Spain — Australian Jack Miller took the honors in third practice at the season-closing Valencia MotoGP on Saturday, the Ducati factory rider outshining his teammate and title favorite Francesco Bagnaia. Heading into qualifying at the Ricardo Tormo circuit Miller was the only man to duck under the 1min30sec bar, topping the times from Johann Zarco on Ducati’s satellite Pramac bike and KTM’s South African Brad Binder. Bagnaia, who holds a 23-point lead over reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo, had to settle for ninth, one place behind his only rival for the MotoGP crown. Bagnaia has the luxury of going into Sunday’s finale aware that if Quartararo wins he only has to finish 14th to seal his maiden MotoGP world championship. He will be relieved to have scraped into the top 10 after the three practice sessions, which means he goes into the second qualifying session. All the other riders below take part in the first session with only the top two then graduating to Q2 to compete for the top 12 places on the grid. Read more Sports Jordan News Read More Desert rally a rare tranquil escape in chaotic Libya Mercedes F1 team dump crypto partner Bagnaia claims MotoGP world title after ‘hardest race of my life’