MotoGP Portimao-2 FP1 LIVE: Quartararo wins his first showdown of the weekend against Bagnaia

Let's be honest, if the coronation of fabio quartararo really delighted us in Misano, it also takes away a lot of the interest from the end of the season in the MotoGP category!

Of course, we will still follow Yamaha's fight for the triple crown (drivers, manufacturers, teams) as well as the fight of Johann zarco face Jack Miller for 4th place in the championship, but this obviously does not have the flavor of the global quest forThe Devil, especially since, precisely, Marc Márquez who could still aim for this 4th final position is absent and replaced by Stefan bradl in Portimao. As a simple precaution, we are told.

 

 

Anyway, on paper it's good The Devil who announces himself as the favorite for this Algarve Grand Prix, free from all pressure, already winner of the last race in Portugal and undoubtedly delighted with the new hard front Michelin tire, he who doesn't particularly like tenderness.

fabio quartararo discovered Portimao in 2014 in CEV Moto3™. He won the race after qualifying on pole position, en route to securing his second title in this category. In MotoGP, this will be his third participation. Last year, he qualified in fifth position and finished the race in 14th position due to an erratic holeshot device problem and then suffered from compartment syndrome. At this year's Portuguese GP, he qualified on pole position and took the race lead with 17 laps remaining to claim his second consecutive MotoGP™ victory.

The weather forecast predicted a dry and sunny weekend, which is confirmed today with a clear sky and temperatures of 15° in the air and 15° on the asphalt this morning.

As the 22 drivers prepare for this first 45-minute session, let's take advantage of these few live moments thanks to the official website MotoGP.com :

Here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far:

MotoGP™ Portimao	4-2021	11-2021
FP1	1'42.127 Maverick Viñales (See here)	1'40.192 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
FP2	1'39.866 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP3	1'39.044 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
FP4	1'39.788 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Q1	1'39.253 Marc Márquez (See here)
Q2	1'38.862 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Warm Up	1'39.721 Jack Miller (See here)
Course	Quartararo, Bagnaia, Mir (See here)
All time lap record	1'38.862 Fabio Quartararo 2021 (See here)

 

When the red lights go out... Joan mir is the first to take the track, in front Miguel Oliveira et John Zarco.
fabio quartararo is the last to leave the pit lane, after Francis Bagnaia.

 

 

In terms of tires, the situation is extremely simple, with all the drivers using the soft front tire (except Iker Lecuona which favored the medium) and the medium at the rear.

At the end of the first flying round, Francesco Bagnaia is the fastest in 1'44.052, ahead fabio quartararo et Jack Miller.

In his second flying lap, Quarterly takes the lead in 1'42.481, ahead bagnaia. Mir is in a good position at the start of the session.

In the next passage, Quarterly improved by a full second in 1'41.481.

After ten minutes, Pecco Bagnaia regains control in 1'41.426.

bagnaia improves again in 1'40.927, four tenths better than Quarterly, whileAlex Marquez made a nice comeback in the ranking to third position. Note that for the moment the times are significantly faster than those of the FP1 of the first race contested here at the start of the season.

Pol Espargaro is currently in second position, between Pecco Bagnaia et Quarterly. A good start to the session for the man who took his first podium for Honda during the last race at Misano.

At the end of the first run, the hierarchy is established as follows: Bagnaia, Quartararo, Pol Espargaró, Miller, Rins, Márquez, Nakagami, Zarco, Morbidelli, Viñales, Binder, Mir, Aleix Espargaró, Dovizioso, Petrucci, Rossi, Martin, Lecuona, Bastianini, Oliveira, Bradl, Marini.

 

Fabio Quartararo won here in Portimão during the first round contested here in April. With the title already in his pocket and therefore less pressure on his shoulders, he will undoubtedly try to win again in the Algarve this weekend.

Halfway through the session, Quarterly regains command in 1'40.768. Joan mir is also on the attack, but things are going less well for him. The Suzuki driver actually got a big scare in turn 13 while trying to improve. He currently remains in 13th position.

 

28 thousandths currently separate the two fastest drivers in the session, namely Quarterly et bagnaia. The duel announced between the two men this weekend seems to be going well... Note that only the drivers in the top 4 move within the same half-second. This is made up of the two official Yamaha and Ducati.

bagnaia continues to push… He accumulates the best sectors but ultimately remains second, still 23 thousandths behind Quarterly. The Italian still ended up taking the lead in the following lap, in 1'40.421, three tenths better than the World Champion.

 

This weekend, Dorna is releasing a new image capture device, with a camera attached to the shoulder of certain pilots. The result is striking, with a first-person view that really allows you to appreciate the real challenge that the Portimão route represents. It looks like it!

Seven minutes from the end, Miller just went with the medium tire at the front. His teammate bagnaia remains in the lead, now half a second ahead of Quarterly.

As we enter the money time of this first free practice session, bagnaia et Quarterly are the only two to progress. A true duel of titans is looming this weekend in Portugal. Note the very good performance so far of Luca marini, in fifth position, in line with his good performance during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Quartararo launched the big attack in these final minutes, stringing together the best sectors before stumbling in the very last section. The Frenchman won his case in his final attempt, in 1'40.192.

Article updated until the end of the session

 

MotoGP Algarve Grand Prix FP1 results in Portimão:

Credit Ranking: motogp.com