Matthew Warnier, Media365 Posted on Friday, March 22, 2024 at 6:00 pm.
The official test session for the Portuguese Grand Prix saw Enea Bastianini move to the top of the timesheet. With ninth place, Fabio Quartararo secured his place in Q2 in contrast to Johann Zarco who only finished 20th.
Ducati maintains the advantage in Portimao. Two weeks after Francesco Bagnaia's success at the Qatar Grand Prix, the Italian marque arrived in Portugal as favorite and did not miss the mark. While Marc Marquez dominated the first free practice session, which was disrupted by harsh weather and a dirty track, it was Enea Bastianini who panicked the meters in the afternoon, marking the hour allocated for official testing that allows the designation of the ten drivers who will compete directly in Q2 on Saturday. During the qualifying session. The fellow world champion took control before the final ten minutes with a lap of 1'38'057, which was not beaten until the checkered flag was raised. The Italian was 118 thousandths of a second ahead of Jack Miller's KTM when Marc Marquez confirmed he was comfortable on the established track in the Algarve, failing by just 153 thousandths of a ref while driving a development-free 2023 Ducati throughout the time. Last season. For his part, Francesco Bagnaia played a role to intimidate himself.
Quartararo can rejoice, and Zarco is in for a rematch
In fact, the No. 1 only confirmed his place in the top 10 in the final minutes, avoiding a potentially tortuous repeat. However, the Ducati rider was satisfied for the eighth time, 484 thousandths clear of his teammate and was only eleven thousandths ahead of Fabio Quartararo. After a forgettable opening session, the French rider took advantage of his Yamaha to set the ninth fastest time of the session and ensure he started the weekend's two races in one of the top four rows. A sign that the “brand with the tuning fork” has regained a bit of competitiveness, as the “El Diablo” teammate asserts. Alex Rins finished the tenth and final heat right in Q2 with a time only eight thousand worse than the Habs. Johann Zarco; The remark is bitter. The Cannes native, driving a Honda, was unable to do better than the 20th time, one second behind the norm and will have to fight on Saturday to enter Q2. He will have to face the other three Honda drivers on the track and also Pedro Acosta, who failed by 36 thousandths. But we will have to rely on the Spanish bloc to attack on Saturday.
Motorcycles / Portugal Grand Prix
Trial order – Friday, March 22, 2024
1- Enea Bastianini (Etta/Ducati) with a time of 1'38'057
2- Jack Miller (AUS/KTM) 0”118
3- Marc Marquez (Spain/Ducati Gresini) by 0”153
4- Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati Pramac) at 0”231
5- Brad Bender (AFS/KTM) at 0-inch 330
6- Marco Bezzecki (ITA/Ducati VR46) at 0”352
7- Maverick Viñales (Spain/Aprilia) by 0”354
8- Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) by 0”484
9- Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) at 0”495
10- Alex Rins (ESP/Yamaha) at 0”503
…
20- Johann Zarco (FRA/Honda LCR) with a difference of 1”090
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