The first day of free practice of the Portuguese Grand Prix, the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship scheduled this weekend at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, near Portimão, was marked by bad weather, which disturbed both sessions in schedule today. Despite the difficult track conditions, made treacherous by the rain, either Bagnaia that Miller they immediately moved to the top positions in the opening minutes of FP1, but then closed respectively in eighth and ninth position at the end of the session.
Bagnaia, in fact, saw his last best time being canceled due to the yellow flags, while Miller crashed a few minutes before the end of the session. In PL2 the rain, accompanied by strong gusts of wind, intensified preventing most of the drivers from improving and the Italian driver also ran into a fall, which forced him to lose a good part of the shift. At the end of the two sessions, Bagnaia therefore closed with the ninth overall time, while Miller completed the top ten. Both have secured direct access to today’s Q2 for the moment, which they will have to confirm shortly in PL3.
Francesco Bagnaia: “Despite yesterday afternoon’s crash, the balance is very positive. Compared to Indonesia where we raced in the rain, here I found the same sensations as last year: I have a good feeling on the front that allows me to push and ride as I want. In PL2 on the second lap I was already able to repeat the time in the morning. I had a new front midsize tire that probably needed one more lap to get the best temperature. I forced too much and made a mistake. In general, I’m happy with how we’re working and I think I’m in good shape even in the event of a wet qualifying “.
Jack Miller: “It had been a long time since we had a full day’s work in the wet and it certainly wasn’t easy. After the first ride in the morning we made a change on the bike that didn’t take us in the right direction. The feeling was the same as in Mandalika where, after being able to quickly find speed, I then suffered from the lack of feeling at the rear. In FP2 we managed to take a step forward and in the final minutes of the session my feelings improved a lot. Now we just have to continue in this direction to get a good qualifying placement ”.
#Bagnaia #good #shape #rain #FormulaPassionit