Marquez and Aldeguer set the tone
Alex Marquez was the fastest rider on Friday in Portimão. He recorded the fastest times in both FP1 and Practice, securing a place in Q2. Fermin Aldeguer also came on strong, finishing in the top ten in FP1 and advancing to Q2 after Practice.
Both Gresini drivers seemed well at ease on the challenging track from the very first laps. The team work went smoothly and the set-up immediately gave confidence, something that is important on a track with many elevation changes and blind corners.
I came to Portugal in the right mood: relaxed but with the right excitement for a MotoGP weekend.
Honda and changing conditions
The weather played an important role. Joan Mir remained consistently fast and finished the day fifth, well into Q2. His Honda RC213V gave him enough confidence to fight for the first two rows.
Luca Marini was unlucky: an early crash cost him a spare bike and he narrowly missed Q2 in 11th. Marini and his team are working on brake point adjustments and fine tuning to improve on Saturday.
Standouts: Aprilia, Yamaha, Ducati and KTM
Aprilia reported a positive first part of the day. Marco Bezzecchi rode his way to P4 and straight into Q2. Lorenzo Savadori, substitute for Jorge Martín, worked on the development of the RS-GP25 and finished further back.
At Monster Energy Yamaha, the day was more difficult. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins finished 13th and 18th respectively, taking them into Q1. Sudden rain made time attacks difficult and limited opportunities to set a clean fast lap.
Ducati made themselves heard with Francesco Bagnaia on P2; a solid time trial in Practice earned him a spot in Q2. Newcomer Nicolò Bulega made his MotoGP debut and collected many laps to gain experience.
Pol Espargaró made it to Q2 for Red Bull KTM Tech3 with a neat ninth place. Enea Bastianini struggled with changing conditions and is in Q1 after P19.
Other notes
- Johann Zarco showed strength and secured P6 and a direct Q2 place.
- Somkiat Chantra made a remarkable wheelie in FP1 and worked on different set-ups for the rest of the day (P20).
- Prima Pramac Yamaha had a difficult afternoon, with Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira finishing the day outside the top 10.
- The 12-lap Sprint is scheduled on Saturday at 15:00 local time; FP2 and qualifying will follow in the morning.
Summary: Portimão delivered a mixture of confirmations and surprises. Some favourites showed immediately that they can fight for the front positions, while others will be thrown back to Q1 by weather and minor mistakes. The real answers will follow on Saturday in FP2, Q1/Q2 and the Sprint.
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