The impressive racetrack of the Autodromo do Algarve near the coastal city of Portimão photographed by us in an almost deserted condition. As in the second race in Losail, no spectators are allowed for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Our live blog from the Portugal GP – second day with the qualifying

Marc Marquez: “I will definitely not be old Marc when I drive my Honda again tomorrow for the first time in 9 months. The point now is to get a good feeling first and to find trust again. It really is the case that my Honda colleagues, including my brother, had some problems, especially with trust in the Honda front. I have already discussed with the team what is new on the bike. Many things are of course not due to the corona-related development stop, but there were still some improvements this season.”

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) the innocent lamb in person, as he presented himself at the press conference on Thursday evening. It is now clear to many observers that he had secretly prepared extremely intensively for his comeback on the bike. Apparently, while everyone was looking to Qatar, he had prepared intensively in Portugal for the comeback on the track,

The FP3 of Moto3: Andrea Migno in front of Rodrigo and Masia

The target time, which currently has to be reached for the entry directly into Q2, is 1’50.859 and is held by Scotsman John McPhee at P14 after the second free practice session. Only those who can undercut this mark in FP3 still have the chance to forego the detour via the first qualifying. With 13th place, John McPhee just made it into the last 14 and is right in Q2. Below the result of the FP3. Drivers in italics must go into Q1 to attempt to qualify for Q2.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 16, Andrea MIGNO, 242.1, 1’48.214,
2, 2, Gabriel RODRIGO, 240.0, 1’48.266, 0.052 / 0.052
3, 5, Jaume MASIA, 237.8, 1’48.321, 0.107 / 0.055
4, 37, Pedro ACOSTA, 236.3, 1’48.334, 0.120 / 0.013
5, 40, Darryn BINDER, 239.4, 1’48.365, 0.151 / 0.031
6, 52, Jeremy ALCOBA, 240.0, 1’48.414, 0.200 / 0.049
7, 7, Dennis FOGGIA, 241.0, 1’48.501, 0.287 / 0.087
8, 23, Niccolò ANTONELLI, 240.0, 1’48.506, 0.292 / 0.005
9, 24, Tatsuki SUZUKI, 235.8, 1’48.558, 0.344 / 0.052
10, 11, Sergio GARCIA, 238.4, 1’48.651, 0.437 / 0.093
11, 43, Xavier ARTIGAS, 242.1, 1’48.680, 0.466 / 0.029
12, 53, Deniz ÖNCÜ, 237.8, 1’48.828, 0.614 / 0.148
13, 17, John MCPHEE, 234.7, 1’48.854, 0.640 / 0.026
14, 12, Filip SALAC, 241.6, 1’48.926, 0.712 / 0.072
15, 55, Romano FENATI, 239.4, 1’49.044, 0.830 / 0.118
16, 71, Ayumu SASAKI, 240.0, 1’49.110, 0.896 / 0.066
17, 28, Izan GUEVARA, 237.3, 1’49.112, 0.898 / 0.002
18, 27, Kaito TOBA, 242.1, 1’49.153, 0.939 / 0.041
19, 31, Adrian FERNANDEZ, 238.4, 1’49.277, 1.063 / 0.124
20, 50, Jason DUPASQUIER, 236.3, 1’49.344, 1.130 / 0.067
21, 92, Yuki KUNII, 237.3, 1’49.408, 1.194 / 0.064
22, 82, Stefano NEPA, 243.2, 1’49.449, 1.235 / 0.041
23, 6, Ryusei YAMANAKA, 241.6, 1’49.460, 1.246 / 0.011
24, 19, Andi Farid IZDIHAR, 239.4, 1’49.539, 1.325 / 0.079
25, 99, Carlos TATAY, 238.4, 1’49.604, 1.390 / 0.065
26, 54, Riccardo ROSSI, 238.4, 1’49.744, 1.530 / 0.140
27, 73, Maximilian KOFLER, 237.8, 1’49.989, 1.775 / 0.245
28, 20, Lorenzo FELLON, 235.8, 1’51.029, 2.815 / 1.040

Andrea Migno in front of Kaito Toba and Darryn Binder in the back. The Italian set the fastest time in FP3, while the Japanese with number 27 has to go into Q1.

The MotoGP FP3: Quartararo fastest, Marc Marquez only in P15

After 6 minutes, Bagnaia leads in front of Zarco and Quartararo. As you saw at Moto3, all drivers have the chance to qualify directly for Q2. The times in the junior class were significantly improved in the third free practice session. Aleix Espargeró set a new best time in his 10th lap with 1’39.690 and shortly before the last quarter of an hour, Luca Marini shone with the second-best lap to date. Twelve and a half minutes before the end, Jack Miller shocked with a 1’39.345 as a new record. Despite a mistake, Marc Marquez managed the eighth-fastest time so far, which should not be enough for Q2. Eight and a half minutes are still on the clock when Quartararo shocks the competition with a 1’39.044. With rookie Jorge Martin, the first driver lies in the gravel. The Pramac Ducati rider then remained motionless and yellow flags are shown.

Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) after his violent crash in the gravel bed – the yellow flags came first and a little later a marshal gave the sign for red flags. Hopefully the Spanish rookie wasn’t injured too badly. However, things are not looking good and doctors are currently taking care of his primary care.

Jorge Martin safe – the last 4 minutes will follow shortly
The drivers go out on the track for the last few attempts, the last of them being Fabio Quartararo as the man with the fastest time of the weekend to date. The fact that Takaaki Nakagami, who fell badly yesterday, is not going out is not a good sign. Now Alex Marquez is lying in the gravel trap of Turn 3 and doesn’t seem to be in good shape. Marc Marquez clearly missed the direct entry into Q2 as 15th. The absolute sensation is Luca Marini on the “old” Ducati from 2019 with place 7, ahead of Aleix, last year’s winner Oliveira and Viñales. Below is the ranking list and in italics the drivers who did not make it straight into Q2.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 20, Fabio QUARTARARO, 332.3, 1’39.044,
2, 21, Franco MORBIDELLI, 335.4, 1’39.095, 0.051 / 0.051
3, 63, Francesco BAGNAIA, 343.9, 1’39.117, 0.073 / 0.022
4, 5, Johann ZARCO, 348.3, 1’39.228, 0.184 / 0.111
5, 42, Alex RINS, 338.5, 1’39.328, 0.284 / 0.100
6, 43, Jack MILLER, 346.1, 1’39.345, 0.301 / 0.017
7, 10, Luca MARINI, 339.6, 1’39.600, 0.556 / 0.255
8, 41, Aleix ESPARGARO, 342.8, 1’39.690, 0.646 / 0.090
9, 88, Miguel OLIVEIRA, 335.4, 1’39.697, 0.653 / 0.007
10, 12, Maverick VIÑALES, 331.2, 1’39.742, 0.698 / 0.045
11, 73, Alex MARQUEZ, 341.7, 1’39.796, 0.752 / 0.054
12, 36, Joan MIR, 335.4, 1’39.818, 0.774 / 0.022
13, 44, Pol ESPARGARO, 341.7, 1’39.828, 0.784 / 0.010
14, 46, Valentino ROSSI, 336.4, 1’39.912, 0.868 / 0.084
15, 93, Marc MARQUEZ, 338.5, 1’39.945, 0.901 / 0.033
16, 33, Brad BINDER, 341.7, 1’40.196, 1.152 / 0.251
17, 9, Danilo PETRUCCI, 337.5, 1’40.302, 1.258 / 0.106
18, 23, Enea BASTIANINI, 340.6, 1’40.343, 1.299 / 0.041
19, 89, Jorge MARTIN, 345.0, 1’41.046, 2.002 / 0.703
20, 32, Lorenzo SAVADORI, 339.6, 1’41.190, 2.146 / 0.144
21, 30, Takaaki NAKAGAMI, 333.3, 1’41.566, 2.522 / 0.376
22, 27, Iker LECUONA, 336.4, 1’41.568, 2.524 / 0.002

Fabio Quartararo in the Monster Energy Yamaha Box – the Frenchman stayed absolutely cool and no other driver could beat his best time from before the interruption in the last few minutes.

Moto2 FP3: Gardner ahead of Roberts and Lowes

While Roberts, Gardner, Beaubier and Dixon are in the first 14, there are 15 minutes left on the clock. Stefano Manzi has just flown into the gravel trap at turn 8, but can get up again immediately and get on a scooter that will bring him back into the pits. In the meantime it became known that Jorge Martin was being transported to the hospital in Faro, which does not seem to be a good sign because the small town of Portimão is much closer. Sam Lowes was on a hunt for the new best time with nine minutes to go, but missed it in the last sector. The Englishman is likely to make it into Q2 while still in P3. With five minutes to go, Remy Gardner set a new personal best, relegating his Red Bull Ajo Kalex team-mate Raul Fernandez to P2. With a good 3 minutes left on the clock, Aron Canet set a new record with 1’42.494 and is now at the top. FP3 is over and the die for direct entry into Q2 has been cast. Canet’s time was later canceled by the race management because the track limits were exceeded. Below is the ranking list in italics with the drivers who did not make it directly into Q2, unfortunately including US boy Cameron Beaubier on P18..

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 87, Remy GARDNER, 286.4, 1’42.643,
2, 16, Joe ROBERTS, 285.7, 1’42.872, 0.229 / 0.229
3, 22, Sam LOWES, 286.4, 1’42.939, 0.296 / 0.067
4, 42, Marcos RAMIREZ, 288.0, 1’42.997, 0.354 / 0.058
5, 25, Raul FERNANDEZ, 295.0, 1’43.040, 0.397 / 0.043
6, 72, Marco BEZZECCHI, 286.4, 1’43.100, 0.457 / 0.060
7, 96, Jake DIXON, 288.7, 1’43.142, 0.499 / 0.042
8, 44, Aron CANET, 288.7, 1’43.148, 0.505 / 0.006
9, 79, Ai OGURA, 294.2, 1’43.157, 0.514 / 0.009
10, 40, Hector GARZO, 288.7, 1’43.196, 0.553 / 0.039
11, 11, Nicolò BULEGA, 284.2, 1’43.215, 0.572 / 0.019
12, 5, Yari MONTELLA, 289.5, 1’43.233, 0.590 / 0.018
13, 37, Augusto FERNANDEZ, 288.7, 1’43.239, 0.596 / 0.006
14, 21, Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO, 284.9, 1’43.241, 0.598 / 0.002
15, 97, Xavi VIERGE, 287.2, 1’43.255, 0.612 / 0.014
16, 13, Celestino VIETTI, 284.9, 1’43.285, 0.642 / 0.030
17, 75, Albert ARENAS, 287.2, 1’43.337, 0.694 / 0.052
18, 6, Cameron BEAUBIER, 291.8, 1’43.362, 0.719 / 0.025
19, 23, Marcel SCHROTTER, 284.9, 1’43.377, 0.734 / 0.015
20, 12, Thomas LUTHI, 284.2, 1’43.413, 0.770 / 0.036
21, 14, Tony ARBOLINO, 291.8, 1’43.443, 0.800 / 0.030
22, 9, Jorge NAVARRO, 288.0, 1’43.465, 0.822 / 0.022
23, 19, Lorenzo DALLA PORTA, 287.2, 1’43.563, 0.920 / 0.098
24, 7, Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, 281.9, 1’43.769, 1.126 / 0.206
25, 35, Somkiat CHANTRA, 288.7, 1’43.771, 1.128 / 0.002
26, 62, Stefano MANZI, 289.5, 1’44.207, 1.564 / 0.436
27, 55, Hafizh SYAHRIN, 287.2, 1’44.416, 1.773 / 0.209
28, 64, Bo BENDSNEYDER, 286.4, 1’44.439, 1.796 / 0.023
29, 77, Miquel PONS, 281.9, 1’45.516, 2.873 / 1.077
30, 89, Fraser ROGERS, 281.9, 1’46.447, 3.804 / 0.931

Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) – still on the front row at the season opener in Losail and now third to last after FP3 in Portugal. We had already emphasized in advance that it would be a completely new world at the Autodromo do Algarve.

Moto3 Q2: Migno on pole in front of Foggia & Alcoba – McPhee P6 & Binder P8

When there are still 5 minutes on the clock in Q1, Sasaki, Fernandez, Izdihar and Salac are provisionally qualified for Q2. A little later, Fenati intervenes with the second-best time and displaces the Czech from the top four. From MotoGP rider Jorge Martin, who fell badly in FP3, we can now hear that he sustained various injuries to his upper extremities and foot. He complained of severe pain and is being examined more closely at the hospital in Faro. In the end, Fenati, Sasaki, Salac and Fernandez made it into Q2. Moto3 qualifying is over and MotoGP is expected a little later for FP4. Below is the starting grid before the race on Sunday.

MotoGP qualifying: Quartararo on pole with Rins and Zarco in row 1

The drivers are currently on the track for the fourth free practice session. Shortly before the last quarter of an hour, Marc Marquez found it difficult to prevent a fall over the front wheel at turn 14. According to his team, Jorge Martin is okay, but has a broken hand and probably his right ankle is also broken. Of course, the Pramac Ducati driver can hardly think of a return before round five Le Mans. Pol Espargaró also had a hard highsider crash but was able to stumble away on his own two feet afterwards. The fastest man with five minutes to go in FP4 is Fabio Quartararo ahead of Miguel Oliveira and Johann Zarco. Shortly before the end of fourth free practice, surprise man and rookie Luca Marini also fell. Even though he rolled over in the gravel bed several times, he was luckily unharmed.

Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) – the Frenchman did an incredible job again in Q2. First he crashed after about 5 minutes, then he was able to pit his bike and in the end he was one of the strongest of all again. In the end he was again the best Ducati rider, as in the double race in Qatar!

The Q1 with many good names – Marc Marquez and Joan Mir are in Q2
In addition to the reigning world champion Joan Mir, names like Rossi, Pol Espargaró and returnees Marc Marquez have to try to get into Q2 here. The latter two did not have an easy FP4 with a fall for Pol and a near-crash for Marquez. His brother is also driving again in FP3 despite his crash and is one of the Q2 candidates after his good performance last year. Joan Mir was in the lead after five minutes before Marc Marquez managed a time about one and a half tenths better. As usual, things don’t really get down to business until the last few minutes and nothing has been decided yet. Despite his fall in FP4, Pol Espargaró appears to be one of the most hopeful drivers to qualify for Q2. His Repsol Honda teammate was still trying to improve his own time, but failed in the 4th sector. In the end, however, Marc Marquez is enough to heave himself into Q2 before Joan Mir, brother Alex and Pol. Below is the result of the first qualifying.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 93, Marc MARQUEZ, 334.3, 1’39.253,
2, 36, Joan MIR, 329.2, 1’39.302, 0.049 / 0.049
3, 73, Alex MARQUEZ, 337.5, 1’39.530, 0.277 / 0.228
4, 44, Pol ESPARGARO, 334.3, 1’39.710, 0.457 / 0.180
5, 33, Brad BINDER, 336.4, 1’39.776, 0.523 / 0.066
6, 23, Enea BASTIANINI, 338.5, 1’39.855, 0.602 / 0.079
7, 46, Valentino ROSSI, 334.3, 1’39.943, 0.690 / 0.088
8, 9, Danilo PETRUCCI, 336.4, 1’40.202, 0.949 / 0.259
9, 27, Iker LECUONA, 336.4, 1’40.408, 1.155 / 0.206
10, 32, Lorenzo SAVADORI, 336.4, 1’40.444, 1.191 / 0.036
30, Takaaki NAKAGAMI, (not started)

The Q2 – Bagnaia loses pole to Quartararo and Rins with Zarco in row 1
While all the other drivers go out onto the track, Marc Marquez remains seated in the pits and even took off his helmet in front of it. Johann Zarco slipped 9 minutes before the end while chasing his best time, but was able to get back up immediately. Shortly afterwards, Fabio Quartararo missed a corner and Joan Mir also went far in the first corner after the start-finish. Marc Marquez has his helmet back on and waits for the last few minutes before climbing his Repsol Honda with his right arm shaking. Almost 4 minutes are still on the clock and Fabio Quartararo is the provisional pole setter with 1’39.028 as the previous best time. As the first ever this weekend, the Frenchman managed a time under 1’39 with 1’38.862. Bagnaia is on the hunt for the best time, while Oliveira ends up in the gravel. Before that, Marquez made the provisional front row, but was immediately ousted by Zarco with the second-best time. A little later, Alex Rins is 4 hundredths faster than the Frenchman, while Bagnaia set the new best time ahead of Quartararo, which however was canceled due to disregard for yellow flags when Oliveira fell. Marquez would have been seventh, but benefited from the elimination of Pecco’s fastest time, which puts him on the second row of the grid with Miller and Morbido.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) – the pole setter. Together with Johann Zarco on the podium in the last race and now with him and Rins going into the race together on Sunday from the front row.

Moto2 qualifying: Lowes despite falling on pole in front of Gardner and Vierge

The German was in 4th position when Somkiat Chantra managed to set the new best time in the last few minutes. Schrötter slipped behind the Thai, Arenas, Beaubier and Vierge to 5th place and missed the entry into Q2. As one of the drivers who made the strongest impression before, Joe Roberts was not really satisfied with 8th place. The same was true of Aron Canet and Raul Fernandez for the two Spaniards behind him. The decision on the starting line-up:

This live blog is closed now.

The schedule for the weekend for the Portuguese Grand Prix

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