Portuguese GP
The Frenchman took pole position in MotoGP on a day again marked by rain and which led to official training in very complicated conditions that left the Spaniard second
It was not a day for rider tidbits on their bikes. The beginning was the same as it had ended on Friday, with rain, cold and wind, which made life difficult for those who were looking for a direct pass to Q2. Although some managed it (Fabio Quartararo, Brad Binder and Aleix Espargaró), those who were in the group of those who chose a small window without rain in the middle of the session to push, something that allowed them to set times similar to those signed by the first two of the first day, Marc Márquez and Pol Espargaró.
And as the weather forecasts pointed out, with the passing of the hours the water receded, although not soon enough to completely dry the track. The result: an asphalt that allowed us to bet on dry tires from Q1 (very carefully in that session), although with numerous patches of moisture that required maximum attention.
In Q1 they punctured the leader of the World Championship, Enea Bastianini, who will have to start eighteenth and who suffered a strong blow; also the second in the general, Álex Rins, who failed to choose the moment to use one or the other tires, which will make him start third from last; and the theoretical number 1 of Ducati and winner of the last race held in the Algarve, Pecco Bagnaia, who could not complete a single lap and ended up in hospital after his garage made a mistake with the decision to send him with dry tires from the start without having a reference. And the stress of Q1 was extended to Q2.
This time no one came in to change tires. With the references far removed from the Portuguese track record, it was about rolling, paying attention to the critical areas, and pushing little by little to find the limit that the track allowed. And there Johann Zarco was the best, the one who got the most juice out of Portimao. The Frenchman from Ducati finished ahead of Joan Mir, a result that confirmed the good feelings shown by the Mallorcan in a scenario in which he was third and second in the two races held in 2021: second in the first free practice, second in the third , seventh in fourth… «It seems that when we take steps forward we don’t go back, which is what I’m looking for this year, to stay firm, and my confidence with the bike is improving a lot, because if it’s not like that you can’t push to make a lap like today”, explained a rider who is looking for his first podium of 2022, which would represent his next step after the two sixths and the two fourths with which he started the course and which keep him in a good position in the general classification .
Behind Zarco and Mir came Aleix Espargaró, who, on the contrary, had suffered in almost all the sessions, but who stepped up at the right moments to achieve a very positive position on a circuit where he was fast last year. Quartararo, fifth, a very determined Álex Márquez in the officials, seventh, and the two Repsol Honda riders, whose trajectories ‘collided’, also slipped into those first four lines.
Fall of Marc Marquez
Pol Espargaró crashed in what was going to be his penultimate attempt and when he was aiming higher in the standings, and had to settle for tenth place. And Marc Márquez was left without his best lap as his teammate was still on the ground. From what would have been a fourth, he had to settle for a discreet ninth.
«Luck has not been with us, but this is part of the game. Today he has touched me and other times it’s someone else’s turn for the yellow flag cancellation. The important thing is that the speed was there and that when I wanted to push it, it came out. For tomorrow we have to have some luck with the base set-up and with the choice of tires if we want to qualify for the race. Starting ninth will be more difficult. The first laps will tell where we can be”, explained the man from Cervera after a day in which he suffered his first fall after the accident in Indonesia, pointing to the key for this Sunday: the ability to interpret the conditions that are found in what will be the end of a very changeable weekend that is expected to end with a dry track, which drivers and teams have not yet found.
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