MotoGP: Jack Miller tops opening day in Portugal

After a long wait, MotoGP™ was back in action for the Grande Prémio TISSOT de Portugal, and it was Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) that topped Day 1 of 2023. The Aussie smashed the lap record with a 1:37.746 to put himself ahead of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) and the reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).

After a short red flag stoppage due to technical issues at the circuit during the opening stages of the session, the riders headed back out on track to complete Practice 2. Cold tires caught out Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) and Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) early after the session was restarted. Both riders were up and ok, and back on track for the rest of the session.

As the clock ran down the times continued to tumble in Practice 2 for the Premier class. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) set a mid-session banker being the first rider to get below the lap record. With the pace set, the rest of the grid chased down the Spaniard’s lap time. The riders were pushing hard, including the 2022 MotoGP™ World Champion Bagnaia, who had a high-speed moment onboard his factory Ducati, saving it heroically on his elbow as he hurtled through the fast-flowing final corner.

15 minutes left to go of the session, and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) went top of the session just before a big crash for Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) brought out the red flags once again.

Once the session was back underway, soft tires were thrown at the bikes and a flurry of fast laps followed, as the riders competed to get into that all-important Top 10 for a secured spot in Q2 ahead of the first-ever MotoGP™ Sprint.

With 8 minutes left of the session “Pecco” took his number-1-plated Ducati to the top spot with an incredible 1:37.856 but it was all she wrote for the Italian after his stellar lap as he swiftly retired from the session.

With Bagnaia out of the session, the timing screens began to light up with just 2 minutes remaining of the session. Miller and Viñales flew into the 1:37 club to put themselves ahead of Bagnaia in 1st and 2nd respectively.

A crash in the dying minutes of the session for Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) meant the Spaniard was out of the Top 10 and will have to fight through Q1 for a chance of a Q2 spot. The 8-time World Champion will be joined by his teammate Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) in Q1. Despite a strong Practice 1 bagging P2, the Spaniard failed to finish inside the top 10.

Practice 2 Times

Pos No. Rider Bike Laps Time Behind Gap
1 43 Jack Miller KTM 30 1m37.709s 0.000s 0.000s
2 12 Maverick Viñales Aprilia 27 1m37.746s 0.037s 0.037s
3 1 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 24 1m37.856s 0.147s 0.110s
4 10 Luca Marini Ducati 27 1m37.899s 0.190s 0.043s
5 89 Jorge Martin Ducati 29 1m37.991s 0.282s 0.092s
6 20 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 29 1m38.015s 0.306s 0.024s
7 5 Johann Zarco Ducati 28 1m38.112s 0.403s 0.097s
8 72 Marco Bezzecchi Ducati 24 1m38.158s 0.449s 0.046s
9 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 25 1m38.253s 0.544s 0.095s
10 23 Enea Bastianini Ducati 30 1m38.256s 0.547s 0.003s
11 73 Alex Marquez Ducati 27 1m38.385s 0.676s 0.129s
12 36 Joan Mir Honda 20 1m38.394s 0.685s 0.009s
13 42 Alex Rins Honda 26 1m38.416s 0.707s 0.022s
14 93 Marc Marquez Honda 25 1m38.419s 0.710s 0.003s
15 30 Takaaki Nakagami Honda 27 1m38.827s 1.118s 0.408s
16 37 Augusto Fernandez GASGAS 21 1m38.882s 1.173s 0.055s
17 25 Raúl Fernández Aprilia 21 1m38.904s 1.195s 0.022s
18 33 Brad Binder KTM 25 1m38.910s 1.201s 0.006s
19 88 Miguel Oliveira Aprilia 24 1m38.958s 1.249s 0.048s
20 21 Franco Morbidelli Yamaha 29 1m38.978s 1.269s 0.020s
21 49 Fabio Di Giannantonio Ducati 24 1m39.421s 1.712s 0.443s
22 44 Pol Espargaro GASGAS 10 1m40.130s 2.421s 0.709s

 

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