Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) took P1 in Free Practice 3 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship on Saturday morning at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto after setting a 1’39.166s. The #31 was just 0.018s ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) and 0.088s clear of Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) with the three riders almost impossible to separate as the WorldSBK field took to the track at the Prometeon Spanish Round for the last practice session before Tissot Superpole.

A flurry of SCQ laps in the final minutes of the session shook up the order somewhat, with Gerloff taking top spot with a 1’39.166s, finishing just 0.018s ahead of Aragon Race 1 winner Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) after ‘The Maniac’ set a 1’39.184s. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) completed the top three with a 1’39.254s with less than a tenth separating the top three, which was completed by three different manufacturers.

The two title contenders were fourth and fifth after focusing on race pace. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) took fourth with a best time of a 1’39.552s, and he completed most of his run in the 1’39s bracket, only dropping into the 1’40s on a couple of occasions. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed fifth, just over a tenth behind the #11, but his race pace was similar with the majority of his laps in the 1’39s bracket. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) showed good pace on Saturday morning as he took P6, half-a-second down on Gerloff’s time.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed seventh as he looked to complete as many laps as possible following his FP1 tech issues with Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in P8. Rea at times would post red sectors in the first half of the lap before losing ground in sectors three and four and he set a 1’39.800s for eighth. He was ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) in ninth. Bautista’s best time was 0.054s slower than Rea but his session was interrupted by a Turn 2 crash when he lost the front of his Panigale V4 R, but he improved his lap time after the crash to finish ahead of Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).

The top six from WorldSBK FP3, full results here:

1. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’39.166s

2. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +0.018s

3. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +0.088s

4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.386s

5. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.508s

6. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) +0.554s

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