Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) remained on top of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings during Saturday morning’s Free Practice 3 with a two-tenths margin over second-placed Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). The two riders were the only two to break into the 1’38s barrier at the Balaton Park Circuit in FP3 as the second day of the Hungarian Round kicked off.

Cooler conditions than Friday greeted the field on Saturday morning, providing a new challenge in Free Practice 3. The change of conditions didn’t seem to impact Sam Lowes too much as the #14 repeated his FP2 exploits by topping the final practice session with a 1’38.747s – the fastest lap of the weekend so far – as he utilised the SCQ tyre. On the following lap, he was two tenths quicker after two sectors but lost that time to lap 0.046s slower than his fastest time, which still would have been enough for P1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed second place with a 1’38.918s, with only the top two in the 1’38s bracket, while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) surged up the order in FP3 compared to his Friday times to finish in third place, 0.407s down on P1.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) had a delayed start to his session before setting representative lap times, eventually finishing in fourth with a 1’39.288s. Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) has shown good pace throughout all three sessions so far and he finished FP3 in fifth with a 1’39.463s, ahead of title contender Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati). ‘Bulegas’ was nine tenths down on the fastest time.

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) continued his strong Friday form on Saturday with P7 with a 1’39.663s, finishing less than a tenth clear of Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha). The six-time Champion set a 1’39.684s to finish in P8 while Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the last of a trio of Yamahas, less than a tenth behind Rea. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) completed the top ten with a 1’39.800s.

On the cool down lap, there was a crash involving Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team). Iannone was able to re-mount his bike while Montella was taken to the medical centre for a check-up and later declared fit.

The top six from WorldSBK FP3, full results here:

1. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 1’38.747s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.171s
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.407s
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.541s
5. Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) +0.716s
6. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.907s

Who will claim the first pole at Balaton Park? Find out from 11:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now 65% off!