A complicated afternoon session saw Joan Mir and Marc Marquez work to keep their places in the combined top ten, ultimately missing out by just a few tenths in the hyper-competitive MotoGP field.

The sound of MotoGP returned in earnest as round one of the 2023 World Championship season got underway in Portimao. A return to Europe for the first race of the year, fans were already lining the stands of the circuit as the premier class rolled out for Free Practice 1 just before 11:00 Local Time.

Spits of rain in the morning session would send the majority of the field back to their garages after only a few laps as they waited for the conditions to improve. After setup adjustments to suit the conditions, both Joan Mir and Marc Marquez returned to the track to make the most of the remaining track time.

Ending the morning in second place with a 1’38.827, the newest addition to the Repsol Honda Team was able to impress immediately as he led a strong session for the Honda RC213V. In the afternoon, Mir was again able to end the day as the fastest Honda – claiming 12th place with a best lap of 1’38.394. Just over 0.1s saw the double World Champion miss out on a combined top ten spot on his Honda Grand Prix debut, the #36 poised to fight for one of the two transfer spots in Q1. A crash during Free Practice 2 saw Mir walk away without serious consequence.

Marc Marquez’s day followed a similar pattern as he finished the morning inside the top ten before improving his time by over a second to a 1’38.419. Unfortunately, his improvements were not enough and finished the day as the 14th fastest rider, a harmless fall in the final minutes of the session ending his last chance of improvements.

Saturday will not only see the classic battle for pole position, but also the debut of the MotoGP Sprint – a shortened 12 lap race where riders will battle for half points.

Joan Mir

12th 1'38.394

“We were able to improve a lot from the test to today and I was able to feel a lot better with the bike. I think we left something more out there on track, so I am not fully satisfied. With our second tyre we weren’t able to make the most of it, but the team and I understand what we need to do in the future to improve this. That’s important. Of course, it’s a shame because we were having a great day. Tomorrow is a new day and I think we have a good chance to go through Q1.”

Marc Marquez

14th 1'38.419

“All of the Honda riders were quite close today. I was feeling quite good with the bike today and our goal today was to get into Q2 and we just missed that. It will be an intense day tomorrow because everyone is riding very well and at the limit after the test. It wasn’t the best day overall today, it was a standard day, but I am aiming to make a step tomorrow and be a bit faster. The crash I had today was one of those crashes where you know it will come, I was braking too late after Turn 2 – I tried to save it but it didn’t work.”

MotoGP 2023
Practice Round 1   Portugal

Friday Practice - Portugal Grand Prix

Dry
Humidity
54%
Track Temp
34°C
Air Temp
23°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Miller Jack 43 AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'37.709
2 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.037
3 Bagnaia Francesco 1 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.147
4 Marini Luca 10 ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.190
5 Martin Jorge 89 SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.282
6 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.306
7 Zarco Johann 5 FRA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.403
8 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.449
9 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.544
10 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.547
11 Marquez Alex 73 SPA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.676
12 Mir Joan 36 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.685
13 Rins Alex 42 SPA LCR Honda Honda 0.707
14 Marquez Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.710
15 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda Honda 1.118
16 Fernandez Augusto 37 SPA Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM 1.173
17 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia 1.195
18 Binder Brad 33 RSA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1.201
19 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia 1.249
20 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1.269
21 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 1.712
22 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM 2.421
Location Information

The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve has 15 corners – nine right, six left. The undulation in Portimao is incredible and the front straight will allow the MotoGP™ riders to really stretch the legs of their machines, before a unique downhill descend into Turn 1. There’s a reason it gets called… read more.

Length 4.592 km
Width 14m
Left Corners 6
Right Corners 9
Longest Straight 969 m
Constructed 2008

Records

Pole Position 1'37.226 (170.0Km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2023)
Race Lap 1'38.685 (167.5Km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2024)
Race Time 41'18.138(166.7km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2024)
2024 Winner Jorge Maratin (Ducati)
2024 Sprint Winner Maverick Viñales (Aprilia)