MotoGP FP2
More from a press release from Dorna:
Bagnaia made a name for himself as Marquez proved his speed on Day 1
The Italian leads the timesheets by three tenths – and Marquez is sixth despite nine months on the sidelines
Friday April 16, 2021
Day 1 in the Grande Premio 888 de Portugal is one of them Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) as an Italian put together a pretty stellar effort to end the day fastest on the combined timesheets. From wet spots in FP1 to a completely dry FP2, the Italian was a force to be reckoned with most of the time on the track, with lots of red sectors. It ends Friday three and a half tenths before Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) with the reigning champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) finished third overall. However, the headlines have been stolen a little with the return of the eight-time world champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) … and it’s been quite a return.
When he heard the number 93 in his pre-event press conferences, he seemed to have as many questions as anyone else regarding his return from an injury nine months after his fall in Jerez. And Friday gave us a few answers. In FP1, Marquez was third overall and only lost at the top after two very late lunges Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and at the end of the game the Repsol Honda rider finished sixth. Happy, quick, and with a few questions about his stamina as was to be expected … but as exciting to watch as always.
The first lap was a constant before the number 93 started rolling those in front of him while Bagnaia trolled the ones they kept stable with some consistent attacks on the lead. With the damp spots still playing a big part, it wasn’t ideal for anyone who’s least likely to come back on the sidelines after nine months, but when the last couple of bursts of speed hit in the last few minutes, Marquez definitely had speed. It seemed like the fairytale headline was about to come true. But no, Rin’s first and next Viñales have done enough to contest the eight-time world champion by a few tenths.
The FP2 bubbled similarly to a quick, frenzied shot, although the weather is likely to stay pretty fair for the rest of the weekend – and conditions won’t change as much as in Qatar – there was a little less passion than a few weeks ago. Even so, there were some solid time attacks and Marquez was back. He ran off Turn 1 and had a couple of twitches on the way to sixth, but a threat at the front he seems to remain … Jaws music, anyone?
Between Mir in third and Marquez in sixth place, Rins is in fourth place, as both Team Suzuki Ecstar machines had a good start to the weekend and wanted to make up for a difficult GP in the Algarve last year. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) was fifth despite an arm pump operation before the Friday weekend when he returned to the site of his final podium, with the Aussie just 0.008 ahead of Rins. Marc Marquez’s sixth place was decided by just 0.003 when Miller pushed him down to the smallest margin.
Viñales was seventh after first place in FP1 and 0.560 away from the lead, ahead of the best Independent Team rider Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) by just 0.064. Championship leader Zarco had an interesting end to the day when he had a mechanical problem at the start of practice and pulled off the track when his bike began to smoke lightly. Fortunately, he was within range of a Miller taxi service when the Australian picked him up and let the French pillion go back to the pits.
Home hero now and last year when he destroyed the field on the way to victory from the pole, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) starts the 2021 edition in P9 and is within reach of the second quarter for the time being. The last driver to join him is Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), the Japanese rider sneaks in late in FP2 despite a monumental fall earlier. On the way down Turn 1, the number 30 slid down the drain at high speed and felt a little sore, but was back outside later in the session.
Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was the rider who was just contested in the top ten due to the last pressure of his teammate when he finished the day in P11 Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) only shuffled 0.011 to P12, despite having had a stronger start to the day, just four-thousandths behind teammate Marquez in FP1. The top rookie was Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia) when the Italian moved into the provisional top ten and then mixed a few places to a still impressive P13, just 0.013 ahead of Pol Espargaro. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was 14th and one and a half tenths further down Valentino Rossi The fastest fifteen on Friday after a tougher day for the Italian and his teammate Franco Morbidelliwho was P19.
Clouds remain over them, but the prognosis is that they no longer threaten rain. Will the first European FP3 program be a classic all-out shootout for the second quarter? Find out on Saturday morning from 9:55 am (GMT +1) before qualifying from 2:10 pm to determine the starting grid for the Grande Premio 888 de Portugal. Last year it was Oliveira in pole position, but this year the grid is within a second of Friday’s … will history repeat itself?