MotoGP Portugal Portimão Practice LIVE: Who to go directly to Q2?

The first evenings of a season MotoGP 2024 record have given us plenty to talk about as the world's best drivers now head to the Grande Premio Tissot de Portugal Practice on the hilly Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Podiums ordered by tenths of a second, battles that we will remember for a good while, the opening round under the spotlights in Qatar did not disappoint and makes us impatient to discover what happens next, south of the Iberian Peninsula…

In Doha, George Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) struck first by winning the Tissot Sprint, laying down the gauntlet in his favorite exercise from the start of the competition. The reigning champion Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) responded in the same way on Sunday, the number 1 having bounced back after a Sprint without a podium to achieve an almost perfect GP race, suggesting that the duel which kept us in suspense in 2023 has resumed where he had stopped...

This clash, which will likely continue into 2024, has a familiar participant by the time we arrive in Portugal, thanks to two top performances from Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). The South African is second overall after taking second in both races in Qatar, and he has already beaten Bagnaia and Martin on track. Will he be able to do it again? On this route, with his double victory in 2023, the reference could well still be Francis Bagnaia, so the contenders will be keen to attack from the start. The double reigning champion is aware of this.

But still…

The first weekends ofEnea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team),Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Fabio DiGiannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in Qatar were solid, but the circuit spotlights above all highlighted the potential of Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), also holder of the lap record at Portimao, and the rookie Peter Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3).

From the first, there is no need to describe his talent and his appetite, from the second we will remember, among his impressive fireworks, not only the overtaking on #93 but also the record for the fastest lap in the race, for his first Grand Prix in MotoGP! However, there was no MotoGP™ testing before the action this time around, so will the 'newbies' be able to continue their stellar run?

And the others ?

Last of the current top 10 and 2nd last year on the Portuguese podium, Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) expects a lot from the roller coaster, just like the two French representatives, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Johann zarco (Castrol Honda LCR), for similar reasons.

The Yamaha rider, winner of Portugal in 2021 and 2022, left Qatar with five points after a hard-earned P11 finish on Sunday. The progression of the M1 is an uphill battle as Ducati, KTM and Aprilia have also made big strides over the winter. But it's all hands on deck, the challenge is accepted by Iwata's mark, and fabio quartararo (who will however make his decision to stay or not with Yamaha in a few weeks) as well as his new teammate alex rins will look to Portimao to try to narrow the gap as development work continues behind the scenes thanks to broad concessions granted to Japanese manufacturers.

Same situation for Johann zarco who ranked P12 ahead Joan mir (Repsol Honda Team) in the GP race. The newcomer also qualified half a second ahead of the other Honda riders, making for an impressive start. Two points at the finish is also a good start for the brand which is seeking to regain its former form, but it will expect much more from Portimao by increasing the hours of testing thanks to the new concessions, especially after a week - more delicate end for Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda LCR) and Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team).

How will the cards be redistributed during this second round as we approach which Brembo sleeps soundly and Michelin anticipates new records? To decide, the 22 drivers will have to cover 12 (Sprint) and 25 (GP) laps of the very hilly route of 4592 meters including Marc Marquez holds the record since last year in 1'37.226.

This morning in FP1, Marc Marquez achieved 1'40.484 on a track far from being in optimal condition, not very smooth, still wet, and above all covered with a fine yellowish sand brought by the night rain. A time far from his own track record, but symbolic of the state of mind with which the Gresini driver approaches the Portuguese roller coaster...

While waiting to discover more for this unique 60-minute pre-qualifying session, under a sky that is starting to clear and temperatures rising by 25° in the air and 31° on the ground, let's take advantage of these few moments live thanks to the official website MotoGP.com :

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

MotoGP™ Portimao	2023	2024
FP1	1'38.782 Alex Marquez (See here)	1'40.484 Marc Marquez (See here)
Practice	1'37.709 Jack Miller (See here)	1'38.057 Enea Bastianini (See here)
FP2	1'38.577 Marco Bezzecchi (See here)	(See here)
Q1	1'37.675 Marc Marquez (See here)	(See here)
Q2	1'37.226 Marc Marquez (See here)	(See here)
Sprint	Bagnaia, Martin, M. Marquez (See here)	(See here)
Course	Bagnaia, Vinales, Bezzecchi (See here)	(See here)
All time lap record	1'37.226 Marc Marquez (See here)

When the red lights go out... Alex Marquez rushes first in front of his brother Marc Márquez, while fabio quartararo sticks to his habit of leaving last.

At the end of a first lap already faster than this morning, fabio quartararo displays 1'40.387, surpassed on the next passage by Brad Binder in 1'39.199.

Jack Miller inaugurates the list of falls by losing the front without seriousness at turn #5.

The top of the ranking is headed by Brad Binder and Fabio Quartararo, both on a soft rear tire, unlike the vast majority of their opponents on medium.

George Martin however manages to insert himself between the two men and, at the end of the first quarter of an hour, we find a hierarchy made up of Brad Binder, Jorge Martin, Fabio Quartararo, Marco Bezzecchi, Pedro Acosta, Alex Márquez, Marc Márquez, Franco Morbidelli, Aleix Espargaro, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Maverick Vinales, Jack Miller, Enea Bastianini, Miguel Oliveira, Takaaki Nakagami, Francesco Bagnaia, Raul Fernandez, Alex Rins, Augusto Fernandez, Johann Zarco, Luca Marini and Joan Mir.

Obviously, the Yamahas adapt better to the Portuguese track than the Hondas, at least when the grip is not there...
However, Iwata's machines will take part in a private test session with their official drivers on Monday.

On resumption, Marc Márquez moves up to 2nd position, hard front/medium rear. The Gresini driver is very fast in the second sector, but loses time in the last.

As the mid-session approaches, Marc Márquez takes the lead in 1'39.110 while Pedro Acosta (soft rear tire) climbs to 3rd position.

In the wake, George Martin abandons his provisional fourth place to take command in 1'38.979.

22 minutes before the checkered flag, Maverick Vinales, then 15th, lights the first three sectors in red before taking command in a surprising Takaaki Nakagami who took advantage of the leading position in a few seconds. The Aprilia rider achieved 1'38.629 thanks to two soft tires.

As the last quarter of an hour approaches, Marc Marquez equalizes this reference to 1'38.629 to the nearest thousandth! This extraordinary similarity hardly seemed to suit the Gresini driver and only lasted one lap, with number #93 posting a 1'38.559 on the next pass.

At the start of the final rush, the table shows us Marc Márquez, Maverick Vinales, Jack Miller, Franco Morbidelli, Takaaki Nakagami, Jorge Martin, Alex Márquez, Brad Binder, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Pedro Acosta, Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Quartararo, Enea Bastianini, Aleix Espargaro Johann Zarco, Raul Fernandez, Francesco Bagnaia , Miguel Oliveira, Joan Mir, Alex Rins, Augusto Fernandez and Luca Marini.

Enea Bastianini opens fire in 1'38.057 and George Martin answers 2/10 whileAlex Espargaro et Alex Marquez make a mistake.

Once the yellow flags have been put away, Marc Marquez takes second position 15/100 behind the official Ducati #23.

Franco Morbidelli fall without gravity, Marc Márquez does the same at turn #5, and the hare Jack Miller finally moved back to second place.

In the last round, fabio quartararo goes from 12th to 7th position, then Francis Bagnaia from 11th to 7th, and Brad Binder in the 5th, Luca marini fall and Maverick Vinales experiences a new technical problem on his Aprilia…

Francis Bagnaia made a less good start to the weekend than in Qatar but still avoided Q1…

See you tomorrow at 11:10 a.m. for FP2!

MotoGP 2024 Portuguese Grand Prix Practice Results: 

Classification credit: MotoGP.com