Enea Bastianini was the fastest this Friday in Portugal, ahead of Jack Miller and Marc Marquez.
The Italian Enea Bastianini (Ducati) achieved the best time in qualifying practice for the Portuguese GP, the second round of 21 in the MotoGP world championship, while the Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) snatched his place in the Top 10, Friday in Portimao.
«The beast» (The Beast, his nickname) stole the show from his teammate and compatriot Francesco Bagnaia, who scared himself by integrating at the last minute the ten best times (8th), synonymous with direct qualification in Q2, which determines the first 12 places on the starting grid. “It was a good day even if I started slowly because the track was very dirty. She was better this afternoon so I was able to improve my times and I put in a good fast lap”stressed Bastianini.
Friday, on a track that was still dusty and slippery, the Transalpine rider beat the surprising Australian Jack Miller (KTM) and the Spaniard Marc Marquez (Ducati-Gresini) by 118 and 153 thousandths respectively.
Bastianini at home in the Algarve
The six-time MotoGP world champion is definitely very comfortable on the Algarve circuit, where he took pole position to everyone’s surprise last season aboard his Honda. Already the fastest in the first free practice session at the end of the morning, the Catalan was in the lead for a long time in the afternoon, even if he fell, without seriousness, for the first time this season with his Ducati.
Spanish world vice-champion Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac) is in fourth place, ahead of South African Brad Binder (KTM), Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati-VR46) and Spaniard Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) . Bagnaia, in difficulty throughout the session, appeared in the Top 10 at the end of his last attempt, a few seconds from the end of the session. The leader of the world championship, winner of the first Grand Prix of the season in Qatar, however remains the big favorite for the weekend.
Yamaha, the surprise of the day
The surprise of the day came from Yamaha, who snatched the last two tickets for Q2. Spaniard Alex Rins took 10th place, just behind Quartararo, who was happy with the day but tempered expectations for qualifying on Saturday. “That was the goal. It’s positive, even if I think we could have done a little better. But tomorrow (Saturday) it will be different. Aiming for the third row might be realistic, but the first two, I don’t think about it too much”estimated the Frenchman.
A free practice session is scheduled for Saturday morning, just before the two parts of qualifying (Q1 then Q2), which will determine the starting grid for the sprint scheduled for Saturday (4 p.m.) and the Grand Prix on Sunday (3 p.m.).
Ranking of qualifying trials :
1. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati) 1:38.057 (Q)
2. Jack Miller (AUS/KTM) at 0.118 (Q)
3. Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 0.153 (Q)
4. Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) 0.231 (Q)
5. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 0.330 (Q)
6. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.352 (Q)
7. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Aprilia) 0.354 (Q)
8. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 0.484 (Q)
9. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 0.495 (Q)
10. Alex Rins (ESP/Yamaha) 0.503 (Q)
11. Pedro Acosta (ESP/GasGaS-Tech3) 0.542
12. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.578
13. Alex Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 0.752
14. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) 0.755
15. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Ducati-Pramac) 0.825
…
20. Johann Zarco (FRA/Honda-LCR) 1,090
