Portuguese GP Practice Results

The Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve hosts the second round of the MotoGP World Championship, and on Friday, after an intense morning, the premier class riders had an hour to determine who would go directly into Q2. Enea Bastianini (Ducati) was the fastest rider with a time of 1:38.057. Jack Miller (KTM) and Marc Márquez (Ducati) concluded the Top 3.

Completing the Top 10, going into Q2, were: Jorge Martín (Ducati), Brad Binder (KTM), Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati), Maverick Viñales (Aprilia), Pecco Bagnaia ( Ducati), Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Álex Rins (Yamaha).

The MotoGP riders will be on track on Saturday from 11:10 (CET) in FP2. Qualifying will begin immediately afterwards at 11:50, with the Sprint race at 16:00.

Busy day for Repsol Honda Team riders

The Portuguese Grand Prix got underway with a long list of things to try out for the Repsol Honda Team, thanks to the new improvements provided by Honda.

Joan Mir snuck into the Top 10 with tenth position in the morning, but was unable to repeat that in the afternoon. He used the session to get the RC213V ready for the weekend’s races, and ended the day 19th.

Luca Marini continued to work hard to understand the behaviour of his Honda on a circuit very different from that of the first round on the calendar. He finished in 22nd place after suffering a small crash in the final stages of the session, and will need to go through Q1 on Saturday.

Portuguese GP Practice Results

Statements

Joan Mir

“We are working hard, and I hope that tomorrow with better conditions on track we can do more. Honestly, I was expecting more from today and we are struggling more than I thought we would. When the track grip is low I think we lose a bit more than our rivals so the aim is to close this gap tomorrow – we will get better as the grip improves. Let’s keep working and I am sure that there improvements will come.”

Luca Marini

“This is a very unique track and we need to put together all the pieces of our package for it. Tomorrow we can improve, keep working and making these small steps in the setting more and more. Unfortunately, I touched the white line between seven and eight because the wind was higher than at the start of the session and it pushed me a little wide. A bit dirty and I lost the front when I grabbed the brake. It’s a shame because I was feeling strong and like I could do a good lap, I wasn’t losing anything to Bastianini in the first sectors.”