Marc Marquez, the latest addition to the Gresini Ducati team, demonstrated his dominance in the MotoGP practice session in Portimão. Despite the track conditions being dry but dirty, Marquez managed to complete 18 laps and set the fastest time of 1.40.484s.
Maverick Vinales, from Aprilia, came in second place, with a difference of less than two tenths of a second to Marquez’s time. The KTM duo, Brad Binder and Jack Miller, closely followed in third and fourth place, respectively.
Franco Morbidelli initially led the time sheet but dropped to fifth place later in the session. His teammate, Martin, finished one position behind him in sixth. Both Yamaha riders showed improvement compared to their previous struggles in Qatar, with Alex Rins finishing seventh and Quartararo in eleventh place.
The nation’s favorite, Miguel Oliveira, delivered an impressive performance to secure eighth place. Alex Marquez, Marquez’s brother and Gresini partner, finished in ninth place, although with a significant gap between him and his brother.
2020 champion Joan Mir completed the top 10 and brought some much-needed positivity to the Repsol Honda team after a series of changes during the winter break.
However, reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia struggled and ended up in 13th place with his Ducati. Enea Bastianini also faced difficulties adapting to the track conditions and finished in 19th.
In a surprising turn, Aleix Espargaro fell to 20th position on his Aprilia, surpassing the Honda duo, Luca Marini and Takaaki Nakagami.
Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta finished in 15th place, just behind his teammate Augusto Fernandez, as he aims to replicate his successful debut in Qatar.
