Marc Márquez was the fastest in the first free practice of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix. This morning’s session in Portimão was lively, with great balance and constant changes in the time table.
In the initial phase of the session, the lead belonged to Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM), until the Australian dropped to sixth on the third lap, and Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) took the top spot. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team/Ducati) was second. Not long after, Miller returned to the top.
These initial minutes were dynamic, with many changes in the time table. Álex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha) led at the end of the first quarter of an hour, with Bezzecchi in second also overtaking Miller… as did, shortly after, Augusto Fernández (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) to place third.
With 29 minutes to go, the two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) took the third spot for a few moments, before Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) improved to reach first. The Frenchman was surpassed by former teammate Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac/Ducati). With 25 minutes remaining, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) set the pace: he was the first to lap in 1m41s and beat Morbidelli by almost half a second.
There's a shark on a rollercoaster! 🎢@37_pedroacosta leaps to 1st, into the 1:41s ⬆️#PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/bMxo7FKKYv
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 22, 2024
In the second half of the session, Miller regained the lead by being 0.014s faster than Acosta. This was a phase of many improvements in times, with Acosta dropping to fifth: he was also overtaken by Rins, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia), and Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati).
With less than a quarter of an hour left on the clock, Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) was at the top of the table before being beaten by Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati). The Spaniard was the first to lap in 1m40s, as did other riders later… including Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) and Viñales, who overtook him less than two minutes before the end to take the top two positions.
🔥 @marcmarquez93 snatches it at last!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 22, 2024
He tops FP1 but he's still far off his own all-time lap record around Portimao#PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/rszcMcCne3
But the best was saved for last. Marc Márquez made another strong lap to definitively return to the lead, with a time of 1m40.484s. Viñales was second at 0.165s, followed by Binder and Miller. Morbidelli closed the top five ahead of Martín and Rins. Bagnaia ended 13th, 0.805s away from Marc Márquez.
Timesheets: