Portuguese GP FP1 tests: Oliveira sets the first mark at home

Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira sets the first official MotoGP benchmark on "his" Portimaõ circuit with a time of 1’40.122 on his KTM-Tech3. The winner of the Styrian GP is closely followed by the Yamaha of Viñales and the Aprilia of Espargaro. Report and classification.

First historic session this Friday morning in the Algarve (Portugal) since the MotoGP discover the exciting circuit of Portimaõ within the framework of this unprecedented final of the GP of Portugal. Curiosity and a little apprehension are perceptible in the face of this fast and hilly course, so far only used in World Superbike..

• GP of Portugal: Hours, challenges and objectives
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• MNC file :

No reference – or almost – is available for the premier class on this recently resurfaced track, on which Jonathan Rea has held the WSBK record since 2019 in 1’40.372. Only one rider was able to ride a MotoGP prototype there: Aleix Espargaro in early October, a privilege granted to Aprilia thanks to its lack of results.. 

The Spanish rider had gone down to 1’40.170 on his RS-GP, that is to say under the Rea brand, but this time had no official value. Nobody expresses it openly, but the objective is indeed to immediately do better during these FP1! Sun and mild temperatures come together to achieve this…

• GP of Portugal: 

This session is also exceptionally extended to 70 minutes of driving, in order to find its marks, in particular for drivers who have never driven in Portimaõ. The discovery is brutal for some, especially at the top of the famous "Toboggan", where the motorcycles pitch up to 190 km / h before tackling this formidable descent. !

Looking to end 2020 on a high! has taken over at the top!  

– MotoGP ™ (@MotoGP)

Looks impressive, and the stopwatch agrees! is currently second behind !   

– MotoGP (@MotoGP)

In the last corner – n ° 15 – the MotoGP squeeze at the rear and allow movement to escape so high the constraints are in this long downhill curve which conditions the straight line of 969 m. Straight line where Jack Miller reaches 341 km / h (!) On his Ducati-Pramac, before braking to dive into the first curve to the right !

The opportunity to see the Australian inclined at 61 ° (!) In the long curves of the Portuguese circuit, as wide (18 m) as fast. The show promises to be intense in qualifying on Saturday then in the race on Sunday.

Yamaha in the game, KTM too !

In terms of time, the first part of these FP1 took place at a pace of discovery – around 1’41.5 – before Fabio Quartararo accelerated the pace at mid-session: the young Nice is the first to pass under 1’41 (1’40.877). The future official Yamaha rider is closely followed by Stefan Bradl, in great shape on the official Honda.

This circuit…

– MotoGP (@MotoGP)

Then it was Andrea Dovizioso’s turn to climb to third place, 0.084 sec behind the leader Quartararo, before Maverick Viñales positioned himself at the top thanks to an excellent 1’40.162 (under the reference " unofficial "Aprilia). The 2020 M1 does not perform so badly, even though the Spanish and Quartararo demand a return to the 2019 version !

Time attack mode for ! 

The man raises the bar!   

– MotoGP (@MotoGP)

“Mack” even goes even further by claiming the 2016 motorcycle (!), According to him the latest competitive version on all tracks. Ironic insofar as Viñales joined the ranks of Yamaha in … 2017: the Spanish – as fast as he is indecisive – therefore partly admits his responsibility for the loss of homogeneity of the M1…

Lurking in the asp of n ° 12, Aleix Espargaro recovers second place 0.221 sec behind the official Yamaha, followed by his teammate of the weekend Lorenzo Savadori. Pol Espargaro, Cal Crutchlow and Joan Mir improve in turn to push Fabio Quartararo back to 8th place, 7 tenths behind the leader…

In the final lap, Miguel Oliveira finally got everyone to agree in 1’40.122 on his KTM-Tech3, setting at home the first official benchmark time in MotoGP. Bodes well for the Portuguese pilot! Johann Zarco only appears in 14th row, five places ahead of Valentino Rossi.

The second MotoGP practice session will take place this afternoon from 3:00 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. (Paris time). Stay connected !

MotoGP free practice 1 results of the 2020 Portuguese GP

1. Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 1’40.122 
2. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 1’40.162 0.040 / 0.040
3. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 1’40.236 0.114 / 0.074
4. Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia 1’40.297 0.175 / 0.061
5. Pol ESPARGARO KTM 1’40.680 0.558 / 0.383
6. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 1’40.695 0.573 / 0.015
7. Joan MIR Suzuki 1’40.856 0.734 / 0.161
8. Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 1’40.877 0.755 / 0.021
9. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 1’40.878 0.756 / 0.001
10. Stefan BRADL Honda 1’40.920 0.798 / 0.042
11. Alex RINS Suzuki 1’40.960 0.838 / 0.040
12. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 1’40.961 0.839 / 0.001
13. Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 1’41.167 1.045 / 0.206
14. Johann ZARCO Ducati 1’41.181 1.059 / 0.014
15. Alex MARQUEZ Honda 1’41.228 1.106 / 0.047
16. Jack MILLER Ducati 1’41.271 1.149 / 0.043
17. Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 1’41.433 1.311 / 0.162
18. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 1’41.928 1.806 / 0.495
19. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 1’41.946 1.824 / 0.018
20. Brad BINDER KTM 1’42.082 1.960 / 0.136
21. Tito RABAT Ducati 1’43.154 3.032 / 1.072
22. Mika KALLIO KTM 1’43.910 3.788 / 0.756

Provisional MotoGP classification before the Portuguese GP

1. Joan MIR Suzuki SPA 171 points
2. Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha ITA 142 points
3. Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 138 points
4. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 127 points
5. Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha FRA 125 points
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 125 points
7. Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA 122 points
8. Jack MILLER Ducati AUS 112 points
9. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN 105 points
10. Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM POR 100 points
11. Brad BINDER KTM RSA 87 points
12. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati ITA 78 points
13. Johann ZARCO Ducati FRA 71 points
14. Alex MARQUEZ Honda SPA 67 points
15. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 62 points
16. Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati ITA 47 points
17. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 34 points
18. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR 29 points
19. Iker LECUONA KTM SPA 27 points
20. Stefan BRADL Honda GER 18 points
21. Bradley SMITH Aprilia GBR 12 points
22. Tito RABAT Ducati SPA 10 points
23. Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 4 points
24. Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia ITA 

Provisional rankings for manufacturers and MotoGP teams 

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