The morning session at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve saw Indonesia’s Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) looking comfortable and quick, and he finished as the top Yamaha in fourth. Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) wasn’t far back in eighth, and the youngster can seldom be ruled out when it comes to race pace. Gennai and Ruben Bijman were also within a second of the fastest time, closing FP1 in 11th and 12th respectively.
Friday afternoon’s FP2 initially played into the hands of Hendra Pratama, who looked on course to top the session for a while with a strong 1’55.811, but as the laps ticked by it was the increasingly familiar sight of Gennai’s #26 Yamaha at the front. Gennai slipped to third in the final moments of the session, but this still earned him third overall on the day, just +0.271 from the fastest rider. Hendra Pratama took seventh on combined, and last year’s R3 bLU cRU star Devis Bergamini (ProGP Racing) rounded off the day in a solid eighth.
