Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez on Friday morning was fastest ahead of Joan Mir and rookie Marco Bezzecchi in the first free practice session for the MotoGP class at the Autudromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
It had been raining all morning on the Portuguese circuit and with an outside temperature of only 12°C, the conditions were anything but favourable.
All drivers took to the track with soft-compound wet tyres to complete their first laps on hilly Portuguese.
Marquez eventually set the fastest lap time in this session with a 1’50.666 that put him over three tenths faster than Joan Mir and MotoGP rookie Marco Bezzecchi.
Meanwhile, Johann Zarco set the fourth lap time ahead of home rider Miguel Oliveira and Maverick Vinales, followed by Jorge Martin, Pecco Bagnaia, Jack Miller and Alex Márquez in the top ten.
Takaaki Nakagami was the first to experience how treacherous the conditions were. Coming out of Turn 9, the Japanese was thrown a hefty high-sider from his Honda RC213V. Nakagami was unharmed but when he returned to the pits he was visibly shaken.
Jack Miller also crashed during this session, the Australian slid his Ducati Desmocedici GP22 down in turn 8. At the end, brand mate Luca Marini also crashed in the same corner.
It was not the best session for the Yamaha riders. Fabio Quartararo was the fastest of the four but had to give up more than 1.3 seconds to Marquez, placing him in eighteenth place.
The previous Portimao MotoGP rounds, all held since November 2020, have been won by Oliveira (KTM), Quartararo and Bagnaia respectively.
This weekend there will be an extra Aprilia in the MotoGP class. Lorenzo Savadori comes into action for the Italian motorcycle manufacturer through a wild card.
The second free practice for the MotoGP class at Portimao will start on Friday afternoon.
