Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) – after the terrible crash of Takaaki Nakagami the day before, the Spaniard landed in the gravel on Saturday. With a broken hand and ankle, the sensation man from the second Losail weekend is likely to be absent for a long time and at least be absent in Jerez.

After the bang in FP1 – the failure of Marc Marquez in FP3

The conclusion after Saturday for the MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal is mixed. Without Jorge Martin’s (Pramac Ducati Racing) crash, it would be easier to concentrate on the purely sporting aspects. But in the end the third free practice session was overshadowed by the crash of the young sensation man in the second round in Losail. We had already mentioned in advance that a completely new world was beginning in Portugal and the return of Marquez didn’t change that. A striking example in Moto2 was Bo Bendsneyder’s result in FP3. At the season opener, the Dutchman started the race from P3 from the front row and in Portugal he was third from bottom after the third free practice session. In the end, Marquez made it to Q2, but was ultimately just one of the supporting actors.

Marc Marquez and the question marks about his comeback
It is actually astonishing that the race doctors with Marc Marquez gave a driver permission to start, despite the fact that he made astonishing statements on the record after the first day. A driver who says of himself that he has become more and more tired after driving twice for 45 minutes can also pose a danger to the rest of the drivers. Not to mention himself, considering his medical history over the past few months. Since he was declared fit for the race by this committee for the second Jerez weekend despite a freshly operated broken arm, this need not come as a surprise. As long as a rider can sit on his bike, this strange facility doesn’t seem to have much to do with responsible medical professionals.

A thoughtful Marc Marquez in the Repsol Honda box after the serious crash of Pramac Ducati rookie Jorge Martin, who could then be seen motionless in the gravel bed for minutes.

The MotoGP Qualifying – allez les Bleus!

In the last race, the two French stood together on the podium after their one-two victory in Losail. Now came her next trick and Fabio Quartararo will start on Sunday together with Johann Zarco from the front row. In between is Alex Rins, who is stronger of the two Suzuki drivers for the second time in Portimao. Pecco Bagnaia actually set the fastest time, but this was achieved by ignoring the yellow flags after Miguel Oliveira fell and was then canceled in accordance with the rules. This means that the Italian and the Portuguese are only in row 4 for Sunday, together with Maverick Viñales. The second row is shared by two drivers, Jack Miller and Morbido, who stood on the podium with Oliveira at the season finale last year. In third place, Marc Marquez slipped behind due to the cancellation of Bagnaia’s best time.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) – the pole setter in an interview. Together with Johann Zarco on the podium in the last race and now with his compatriot and Rins starting the race on Sunday from the front row.

The returnees’ contortions – is Marquez just acting or with serious problems?
You saw almost theatrical faxes from Marc Marquez in the Repsol Honda box and when getting on his bike. Either he was just simulating, or it is questionable whether his use in the race makes sense. However, the Medal of Bravery belongs to Pol Espargaró just under five hundredths slower than his brand colleague Alex Marquez. The Catalan fell at half-time in the fourth free practice session by highsider and then stumbled on shaky legs to the next scooter driver, who drove him back to the pits. If, on the other hand, his team-mate Marc is not fit, he should forego the race and thus not take any unnecessary risks. Otherwise, he not only risks his own health, but in the worst case also that of the other pilots on the route.

Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) – the French did an incredible job 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!

Exciting starting position before the race on Sunday
Given the surprising starting grid, it will be very curious to see how the race will develop on Sunday. The events of Saturday can be seen in our now closed live blog. It is particularly interesting at Yamaha how well Franco Morbidelli will do this time. After experiencing a one-two race to forget in Losail, his starting position on the second row is excellent. After pole setter Fabio Quartararo had a sensationally strong day, his Monster Energy Yamaha team-mate was Maverick Viñales. As the last in Q2, the Spaniard still has a lot to improve on Sunday. However, he was very unlucky when the three fastest laps were apparently canceled because the “track limits” were exceeded. Not only did Maverick find this unfair, but so did some of his opponents. Unsurprisingly, the biggest losers were the KTM riders. Except for Oliveira, the oranges should have virtually no chance in the race. At the top, however, a lot is possible for the third Grand Prix of the year, the starting position promises to be extremely exciting.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) – the only hope of the oranges ended up as last year’s winner in the gravel and luckily remained unharmed. From the fourth row on the grid, the local hero definitely has no easy task ahead of him in Sunday’s race.

The Moto2: Lowes despite falling on pole – Jake Dixon in row 5

Marcel Schrötter had bad luck in Q1. 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. The decision on the starting line-up of the top 14 drivers will soon begin with Q2. A little later the matter was already decided. Despite a crash, Lowes was on pole ahead of Gardner and Vierge shortly before the end. As one of the drivers who previously made the strongest impression, 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. They were also able to convince until Saturday morning, but not in Q2 in the afternoon.

Our shot from the almost deserted Autodromo do Algarve – since the second round of the World Cup in Losail, no more spectators are allowed on the track, which was already difficult for the home crowd last year when Oliveira won here.

Moto3 Qualifying: Honda dominance with two Italians and a Spaniard in row 1

The season opener Jaume Masia only starts from row 4 on Sunday. The first row brought a strong comeback for the two Italians Migno and Foggia, who had the best times ahead of Jeremy Alcoba. With Sergio Garcia, only one KTM rider made it into the first two rows. The fact that his bike is referred to as GasGas only refers to the name and paintwork. The bike is definitely completely identical to the “Husqvarnas” and KTM. Deniz Öncü was able to surprise positively with 7th place in Q2, which means that the Turk will be in third row 3 together with Darryn Binder and Xavi Artigas. For Max Kofler and Jason Dupasquier, things did not go according to plan. Having to start the race from the second and third from the last row is a heavy burden, but not the end of all opportunities. For John McPhee, his fictitious position in the second row would again be a very good starting position. But, this time he will have to start out of the pit lane after his Kung Fu show with Jeremy Alcoba. After the latter had pulled him out of the saddle in the last race, the two then allowed themselves some unpleasant scenes.

Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda) – the Moto3 pole setter at the press conference.

The schedule for the weekend for the Portuguese Grand Prix

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© MotoGP).