A new addition to the MotoGP calendar, Stefan Bradl challenged the top spots as Alex Marquez worked to build a base for the rest of the weekend.
Friday was a busy day for the Repsol Honda team with extensive free training sessions on the new MotoGP track in Portimao. Constant sunshine on the newly expanded track made for ideal conditions, as the MotoGP World Championship should end the year at a high point. The first feedback from the entire paddock was positive for the new venue. The drivers tried to tame the roller coaster.
After just one test session on board a racing bike, Alex Marquez used the start of the day to familiarize himself with the 4.6 kilometer route on board his Repsol Honda RC213V. The 15th and 1.1 seconds behind the fastest time gave Alex and his team a good basis to work when Free Practice 1 came to an end. It was a busy afternoon for Alex Marquez, who completed 33 laps, most of all riders in the afternoon, as the MotoGP rookie worked to improve his pace and evaluate tire options for the weekend. Ultimately, Alex finished the day 18th in the overall standings, but within a second of the best time and half a second of the top ten.
Stefan Bradl started the day in excellent shape, led FP1 for a while and was one of the first drivers to do a 1:40 lap. However, this was not a fleeting speed. Bradl underpinned his performance with improved pace in FP2 as he battled for the top 5 again until the end of the session. Bradl finished the day with a best time of 1’39.909 and finished on Friday in 11th place and only 0.021 seconds away from the top ten.
The premier class will be back on track for Free Practice 3 on Saturday, November 21 at 09:55 a.m. local time, before the last qualifying shootout of 2020 takes place at 2:10 p.m. local time.