MotoGP LIVE Portimao FP3: Big concern for Jorge Martin, Fabio Quartararo in leader

After nine months of absence, Marc Márquez returned and the uncertainties disappeared: the Spanish champion has lost none of his abilities, and he demonstrated it once again by placing third in the FP1 and sixth of the FP2 even though he had not done a single kilometer in the past month and had never ridden on the Portimao circuit in MotoGP!

This was obviously the major event of the first day of the Portuguese Grand Prix which initiates the European Grand Prix tour, but not the only one. The duel between Yamaha and Ducati which has been looming since the start of the season, and which was confirmed again yesterday, will certainly see the arrival sooner or later, and undoubtedly sooner than later, of the #93 Honda, but we also see the very good performance of the Suzukis on the Portimao roller coaster.

In 3rd and 4th places, they are currently leading the peloton, behind the two escapees of the day, Francesco Bagnaia et Fabio Quartararo (despite his best lap being canceled), at the end of the last 5 minutes of FP2 which you can see below:

For the time being, Francesco Bagnaia, fabio quartararo, Joan mir, Alex Rins, Jack Miller, Marc Márquez, Maverick Vinales, Johann zarco, Miguel Oliveira and Takaaki Nakagami are pre-qualified for Q2. Will it be the same in 45 minutes, after this FP3? Probably not, if we trust both last year's references and the weather forecast which presents us with a clear sky and temperatures of 17° in the air and 23° on the almost new asphalt, These are ideal conditions for destroying the times.

While the 22 drivers are preparing, let's enjoy these few minutes of live broadcast thanks to the official website MotoGP.com:

Past references:

MotoGP™ Portimao	2020	2021
FP1	1'40.122 Miguel Oliveira (See here)	1'42.127 Maverick Vinales (See here)
FP2	1'39.417 Johann Zarco (See here)	1'39.866 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP3	1'39.205 Jack Miller (See here)	1'39.044 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
FP4	1'40.150 Pol Espargaro (See here)
Q1	1'39.250 Cal Crutchlow (See here)
Q2	1'38.892 Miguel Oliveira (See here)
Warm Up	1'40.067 Cal Crutchlow (See here)
Course	Oliveira, Miller, Morbidelli
All time lap record	1'38.892 Miguel Oliveira (See here)

When the red lights go out... Franco Morbidelli perpetuates the good old tradition by setting off first on the track while, conversely, fabio quartararo starts last, just behind Takaaki Nakagami.

In terms of tires, mediums are favored by drivers…

Everything goes very quickly and Johann zarco proved to be the fastest at the end of the second flying lap, in 1'40.518. The French pilot precedes Miguel Oliveira, Joan Mir, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo and Valentino Rossi.

Two loops later, despite an attack from Miguel Oliveira, the double Moto2 world champion takes the best time in 1'40.278 with a best top speed of 346,1 km/h.

A small unintentional incident occurs between Franco Morbidelli and Takaaki Nakagami.

Johann zarco continued his effort and achieved 1'40.008 with a speed of 348,3 km/h, which propelled him to second place in the combined ranking.

At the end of the first run, the session is led by Johann zarco before Franco Morbidelli, Francesco Bagnaia, Miguel Oliveira, Fabio Quartararo, Aleix Espargaro, Pol Espargaro, Alex Rins, Joan Mir, Maverick Vinales, Luca Marini, Valentino Rossi, Brad Binder, Jack Miller, Danilo Petrucci, Jorge Martin, Lorenzo Savadori, Marc Márquez , Alex Marquez, Takaaki Nakagami, Iker Lecuona and Enea Bastianini.

In terms of changes to the combined ranking, Johann zarco is therefore second, Franco Morbidelli third and Alex Espargaro tenth, which excludes for the moment Maverick Vinales and Takaaki Nakagami. The latter also seems to be suffering from his fall yesterday and could end the session there...

On resumption, Alex Marquez progressed and positioned himself ninth, which however did not allow him to enter the top 10 overall.

Marc Márquez also grabs a few places but it's Alex Espargaro who impresses by placing his Aprilia in second position in the session and third place in the combined ranking.

One lap later, the Catalan driver put his RS-GP at the top of the standings, in 1'39.690! Note, however, that he is almost the only one to be riding with a soft rear tire at this point in the session…

As the last quarter of an hour approaches, John Zarco, still on the medium tire at the rear, improved his best time by going below the 1'40 mark.

Luca marini makes the best use of his soft rear tire by placing his Ducati in second position in the session, and therefore entering the top 10 combined in the same place.

All this suggests a final rush that is, to say the least, fiery…

Jack Miller, then 16th, opened the hostilities with two soft tires by achieving 1'39.345, the best time of the weekend for the moment.

10 minutes before the flag drops, the pressure rises with chronologically the 3rd provisional position of Miguel Oliveira, the arrival of Espargaro Pol in 6th place and the provisional pole position of Fabio Quartararo in 1'39.044!

While the majority of drivers are still in their box, Franco Morbidelli took the opportunity to snatch second place, only 51/1000 behind the French driver.

George Martin, who was already not comfortable on the Portimao circuit, suffered a huge fall at turn #7. The Spaniard unfortunately remains frozen in the gravel trap and the session is stopped at red flag 4 minutes and 11 seconds before its end.

The worry invades the circuit…

The Pramac pilot seemed conscious but was evacuated on a stretcher with great caution.

In a fairly heavy atmosphere, the session is restarted for 4 minutes. At this moment, Johann zarco no longer part of the top 10.

Given the time allotted, the launch lap is carried out as quickly as possible, then the sectors begin to light up, but only in orange, a sign that the provisional best time of fabio quartararo does not appear to be in danger.

Alex Marquez crash at turn three, which risks canceling out any fast laps that the other drivers could do while Francis Bagnaia is the only one who can improve the best time of the weekend.

Finally, Johann zarco returns to the top 10 but fabio quartararo retains leadership.

Marc Márquez, 15th, will have to go through Q1… but Joan mir et Valentino Rossi also.

Standings for FP3 of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix at Portimao:

FP1/FP2/FP3 classification of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao:

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com