Algarve MotoGP, Portimao – Free Practice (2) Results

Fabio Quartararo stays fastest during Friday Practice 2 for the Algarve MotoGP at Portimao.

Seperated by just 0.045s this morning, new world champion Quartararo and nearest rival Francesco Bagnaia soon picked up where they left off for much of the afternoon session, until soft tyres and time attacks in the closing minutes.

Joan Mir and Jack Miller briefly featured in P1 before Quartararo struck back, finishing the day 0.132s clear of Bagnaia’s Ducati despite a Turn 13 scare that sent his outside foot in the air.

Miller, Mir, Pol Espargaro, Zarco and Alex Marquez were best of the rest behind Quartararo and Bagnaia, but it was a tough day for home hero Miguel Oliveira, left down in 19th. Andrea Dovizioso was the only rider not to fit a soft rear at the end of the session.

Marc Marquez, winner of the past two MotoGP rounds, is missing the event after still feeling ‘unwell’ several days after sustaining a ‘slight concussion’ while training on an off-road bike. Marquez is replaced by test rider Stefan Bradl.

The hard front tyre option has been changed from the disliked asymmetric version selected for April’s Portimao round, to a symmetric hard compound.

Home star Oliveira, winner of last November’s inaugural Portimao race while using a symmetric hard front, was one of those to struggled badly with the revised tyre allocation in April, when Quartararo dominated the race from Bagnaia and Mir.

Although Quartararo has already wrapped up the 2021 riders’ title, with Bagnaia and Mir on course for second and third, Ducati and Yamaha remain locked in a close battle for victory in the teams’ and constructors’ championships.

Key:
^X Rider is X positions higher than FP1.
= Rider is same position as FP1.
˅X Rider is X positions lower than FP1.

* Rookie

Official Portimao MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Fabio Quartararo FRA Yamaha 1m 38.862s (2021)
Fastest race lap:
Alex Rins SPA Suzuki 1m 39.450s (2021)

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