Bagnaia tops Portimao FP2

Bagnaia fastest for Ducati during Free Practice 2 for the Portimao MotoGP round in Portugal.

Due to the wet patches in FP1, all riders set their best lap times of the day in the afternoon, despite light rain just before the start of the session. Better weather is expected for Saturday and Sunday.

At one stage all six manufacturers were in the top six heading into the closing minutes.

Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez – sidelined for the past nine months due to complications with his broken right arm, which eventually required three operations – was soon up to speed, leading the timesheets on his way to third quickest this morning.

The Repsol Honda rider then took a late sixth place (as top Honda) in the faster FP2 session and was again all smiles afterwards despite – or because of – some sideways moments. Marquez hadn’t ridden a MotoGP bike at Portimao before today, but did test an RC213V-S production bike at the track last month.

Nakagami had a fast accident in the opening minutes when he appeared to lock the front wheel over the crest into Turn 1, the Japanese was clipped by the bike as he slid and walked away holding his right wrist. After checks in the medical centre, the Japanese returned for the closing ten minutes and grabbed a late tenth place!

Zarco’s bike had a minor fire during his practice start.