MotoGP Test Portimao J2-1 LIVE: the countdown to the end of the off-season begins this morning with four Ducatis in the lead pursued by four Aprilias!

The domination of the Italian manufacturers during the first day of the IRTA test, organized on the Portimao circuit, which will also host the opening race of MotoGP 2023 on March 26, was clear this Saturday. To the point that their adversaries are plunged into deep perplexity. The ranking revealed in fact no less than seven Italian motorcycles in the first seven positions, and nine in the Top 10. The best time went to reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia, who took the lead with the Desmosedici GP23 with a time of 1'38.771, close to the record which already belongs to him and which is 1'38.725...

Behind “Pecco” we find the brand’s partner and resident of the VR46 Riders Academy Luca Marini, who, riding the Desmosedici GP22 of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, returned 0.234s to the red Ducati hit by 1. Third place is the prerogative of the Aprilia of Maverick Vinales, a motorcycle presented Friday in Portimao. The Venetian firm's Top Gun stopped just 20 thousandths behind Marini but precedes his compatriot Alex Marquez, new Ducati Gresini Racing rider this season.

The Aprilia RS-GP 22s of Razlan Razali's Team RNF also performed well. Raul fernandez set the fifth fastest time ahead of his teammate Miguel Oliveira. Both follow the leader at 0.689s and 0.695s. Marco Bezzecchi on the second Ducati of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team is seventh, ahead of the only Japanese bike in the Top Ten, the Yamaha of fabio quartararo.

“El Diablo” is literally surrounded by Italian motorcycles. Indeed, in addition to the seven in front, he has two others behind, with the Ducatis of Fabio Di Giannantonio who fell twice and was taken to hospital for checks and George Martin of Pramac Racing. The best pilot Honda is alex rins, who moved from Suzuki to the RC213V managed by Lucio Cecchinello. He regrets a gap of 0.875s on the lead and is ahead of the Aprilia ofAleix Espargaró and the Ducati Pramac of Johann zarco.

Joan mir riding the Honda Factory is 14th, ahead of the best of the KTM, that of the South African Brad Binder, who in turn is ahead of his teammate Jack Miller. Difficult day for Enea Bastianini who had a technical problem on his Ducati Factory. For the eight-time world champion Marc Marquez, It's worse. He is only 19th at 1.399s behind bagnaia. A disappointing result, especially when compared to those who had never driven the RC213V, i.e. alex rins et Joan mir.

Franco Morbidelli continues to fight MotoGP, he is 21st on the track with the second Yamaha, around 8 tenths from his teammate fabio quartararo. In front of “Morbido” also the Ducati tester Michele Pirro, while behind him we find the GASGAS of Pol Espargaro and the rookie Augusto Fernandez, separated by the Honda of Takaaki Nakagami.

Note that there were also numerous falls, in order: Raul fernandez at turn 15, Aleix Espargaró at turn 1, John Zarco at turns 13 and 3, Pol Espargaro at turn 5, Fabio DiGiannantonio at turns 10 and 7, Marc Marquez at turn 14, Takaaki Nakagami at turn 13, Enea Bastianini at turn 4 and Joan mir at turn 14.

But all that was yesterday and now it's a new day which starts from 10:30 a.m. to 18:30 p.m. Portimao. It's a little over 17° in the air and the track gradually warms up under a welcoming sun to 18.5°. Bad news for Gresini: Di ​​Giannantonio absent. The Italian fell yesterday and was taken to hospital for a check-up. He has been declared unfit and is therefore not allowed to participate. However, his team emphasizes that he is fine and just needs time to recover. Gresini only started with Alex Marquez today.

The pit lights come on at Portimao and the final eight hours of testing before the start of the season begins. So today the factories must have their aerodynamic package package for the first race. The motorcycle of Marc Marquez is being prepared in the Honda garage. Yesterday the Spanish pilot dictated the line: “ we need to focus on what we have and it gets us results"

The other teams are also preparing their machines, no one has come out yet. After a quarter of an hour, Francesco Bagnaia is the first to roll. He achieves a 1'39.728.

Raul fernandez et Miguel Oliveira ( Aprilia RNF ) are the two other drivers on the track, after bagnaia, who have already set a time: at the moment, the two are more than a second and a half behind the world champion. All the other drivers are still in the pits. Then after 30 minutes, fabio quartararo starts. He achieves a modest 1'40.129. Jorge Martin begins its work.

Marco Bezzecchi, Pol Espargaró, Alex, Rins, Brad Binder and Alex Marquez are also out. So we already have all the manufacturers in the running. While George Martin signs a new best time in 1'39.342, John Zarco did not stray far from his stands. Already on the last lap he had to park his Ducati due to a technical fault. It happened to Enea Bastianini yesterday, vIs there perhaps a weakness in Ducati's reliability?

Far from this question about the GP23,  Alex Marquez takes the lead at Portimao in 1'39.264. TOP 10 : A. Marquez, Martin, Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Quartararo, R. Fernandez, Bastianini, Oliveira, Rins and Espargaró. Marc Marquez in sixteenth position.

Johann zarco quickly returned to the pits and jumped on his second bike. During this time, Marc Marquez fails outside the top 5 and ranks sixth. On Sky Sports, we have detailed news from By Giannantonio : “Diggia” was declared “unfit” as a precaution. Yesterday, after the fall, during which he hit his head and also destroyed his helmet, he was taken to Portimao hospital for a scanr . It was negative, but in any case the doctors want to keep him still as a precaution to respect a “technical” observation time. He will have to make a additional check before the Portuguese Grand Prix to obtain authorization. This is a new provision in MotoGP that will also have to be taken into account this season…

Here is the ranking at 11:30 a.m., after an hour of exercise:

Brad Binder fell at turn three. But it was harmless, the pilot KTM was able to return to the stands under his own power.

Given the new format, today many drivers will simulate the Sprint Race. Alex Espargaró launched on the post, and occupies sixth place. There is still no sign of an Aprilia teammate Maverick Vinales nor Luca Marini. We also did not see Stefan bradl in action today. His test colleague at Ducati, Michele Pirro, has already done 10 laps. During this time, bagnaia climbs to second place, but above the 1'38 mark.

Fabio DiGiannantonio , declared “unfit” by doctors for this second day of tests, explained yesterday’s incident on Sky Sport: “ It was a normal accident, but at high speed. I hit my head on the gravel, which is like a wall here, and I stopped for a moment : they told me that it took me a while to get up, although I don't remember that. I'm fine, but due to the severe head trauma, they preferred not to give me the "adjustment" to let me rest. Damage "

Aleix Espargaró caused a sensation at midday by taking the lead in Portimao with a 1'38.850. Certainly, Aprilia will give a hard time to Ducati this year… TOP 10: Espargaró, Martin, Oliveira, Bagnaia, Bastianini, A. Marquez, Quartararo, Bezzecchi, Espargaró and M. Marquez.

Here is the ranking after two hours of play:

Pecco Bagnaia who is doing a Sprint Race simulation, stopped the clock in 1'38.154, beating his previous 2021 record by six tenths.

By Giannantonio, interviewed by Sky complained about the gravel present in the circuit, in fact they are stones!

George Martin has already completed 39 laps. The brand's colleague Marco Bezzecchi follow with their 35. Miguel Oliveira accumulated 32 rounds. Brad Bindera the fewest rounds with 12, but he also fell.

Ranking after three hours of work :

Miguel Oliveira can't match Bagnaia's time, but he's still in third place. Meanwhile, former world champions Joan mir et fabio quartararo are in the top 10 at 8th and 9th. Only four drivers are on track. There is no official break here, but teams still take one at lunchtime.

Maverick Casa Particular in Viñales rose to 5th place. Alex Marquez has also improved further over time. The entire top 5 thus broke the record of the previous round. Joan Mir in 10th place is now the only one in the top 10 with a Japanese motorcycle. There are 4 hours and 30 left until the end of the tests. Bagnaia still leads the session with his 1'38.154 (new track record). TOP 10: Bagnaia, Martin, Oliveira, A. Marquez, Viñales, Espargaró, R. Fernandez, Bastianini, Marini and Mir.

Alex Marquez improved further and rose to second place. KTM, on the other hand, is in the middle of nowhere. The best placed Mattighofen driver is Pol Espargaro in 16th place. John Zarco is the new second, but he also loses almost two tenths on the world champion after his attempt against the clock. This leaves us with a quadruplet consisting of three GP23s and one GP22.

Before handing over to the afternoon team who will take care of the epilogue, here is the ranking in Portimao which will make the boards of directors in Japan think…

Half-time standings: 

Credit classification motogp.com