Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales had a flying start to the Grande Prémio de Portugal today at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. He continued his positive FP1 groove in this afternoon‘s session, also earning second place in the FP2 and the combined Free Practice standings. Valentino Rossi used the two sessions to the fullest to work on the balance of his bike and ended the first day in Portimão in 21st place.
Viñales already had a good feeling in FP1 and continued the positive momentum in the afternoon. He concentrated on getting to know the Portimão track and perfecting his bike‘s set-up for Sunday‘s race. The number-12 rider put his package to the test when there were 15 minutes left on the clock. What followed was a tug of war between him, Jack Miller, and Johann Zarco for the number one spot. They switched positions multiple times. In the end, the Yamaha rider completed the session in second place with a 1'39.536s, set on lap 29/29, 0.119s from first.
Rossi continued working on the balance of his bike throughout FP2. He used the second 70-minute session to get to grips with the technical Portimão track. Trying to push, The Doctor had a small tumble in Turn 4 but was OK to continue the session. He arrived back at the box with just over 15 minutes to go and hopped aboard his second bike. He went on to set a 1‘41.279s on lap 27/28, which was 0.667s quicker than his fastest lap of the morning, but it wasn‘t quite enough to improve his place in the timesheets. He wrapped up the first day in 21st position in the FP2 and the combined free practice standings, 1.862s from the front.
