Moto3 Portimao FP1: welcome to Portimao, with Masia and Fenati on display

Last weekend in Valencia, the Moto3 championship decided to postpone the final decision about its World Champion to this Portuguese Grand Prix. Albert Arenas crossed the finish line in fourth position. He is still at the top of the general classification with 170 points ahead of Ai Ogura (162 points) and Tony Arbolino (159), winner in Valencia.

However, Jeremy Alcove finished in 10th place to win the Rookie of the Year title fight. He is ahead of the Tech71 driver with his 3 points Deniz Oncu (44 points), Carlos Tatay (24) et Ryusei Yamanaka (14)

Honda presents himself with 13 points ahead of KTM in the Moto3 World Manufacturers' Championship and could win the title for the fourth time in a row in the class in Portugal. The most likely scenario that would consecrate the Tokyo brand is one of its drivers crossing the line in the top four. It will also be noted that Stefano Nepa will celebrate its 19th birthday on qualifying day for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

What will this Moto3 final have in store for us other than the new route of Portimao ? Before thinking about it, here is an extended FP1 so that the drivers can familiarize themselves with this track which is unknown to them. The reason why there is no table which presents the facts… But an indication nonetheless:

Record: 1'48.776 in FIM CEV by Fabio Quartararo (Honda, Junior Team Estrella Galicia 0,0) in 2014.

17° in the air and 16° on the track are the conditions offered to pilots for this long FP1. The first reference is established by farmhouse in 1'50.656. The pilots discover the roller coasters which are indeed Portuguese…

After 20 minutes, the drivers return to the pits to share their first impressions, except Stefano Nepa, down at turn 14.

His teammate fenati is second while Suzuki, Arenas et Tuff close the top 5. Arbolino is seventh and Ogura ninth. So much for the title contenders. As for Suzuki it describes well the daily life of Moto3 in Portimao…

Ogura gets a nice scare on a track which is definitely not short of emotions... And we are still far from the record of 1'48.776 of fabio quartararo in 2014 on what's more the old coating.

The pilots return to combat with 25 minutes of track remaining. The leader farmhouse fell at the entry turn 14 while he improved his time. A procedure that succeeds on the other hand fenati who takes the lead in 1'49.511. This is more than a second better than farmhouse... Until fall at turn 5.

Roman Fenati continues his demonstration as the last quarter of an hour has begun since he is now in 1'49.448... Masia is now pushed back to 1s2. A pit in this category. But fenati found the limit by falling at turn 14, which was decidedly delicate since the scene of three of the four accidents recorded. During this time, McPhee climbs third ahead of a surprising Dupasquier.

Alonso lopez increase in pace and manages to avoid a second delay on the still solid leader fenati. We enter the last five minutes, the moment when the groups are formed preliminary to the penalties to follow. A ritual as immutable as it is incomprehensible…

Alonso lopez comes close to eight tenths of the performance of Max Biaggi's driver. But farmhouse clocked a 1'48.896 which pushes the Italian back by half a second. The record of fabio quartararo trembles...

Under the checkered flag, farmhouse keeps the advantage for two tenths on fenati. Arenas is third and therefore has an advantage over his challengers for the title. Arbolino is in fact eleventh and Ogura distant 26th… Garcia et Raul fernandez complete the top 5 of the session while the Tech3 driver Oncu leads the rest of the pack in sixth place.

Moto3 Portimao FP1: times

 

 

 

 

FP1 classification of the Moto3 Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimao:

 

Classification credit: MotoGP.com