MotoGP Portugal FP1: Alex Marquez leads. Bulega outperforms Bagnaia.

Alex Marquez isn't content with his Malaysian triumph. The Gresini Ducati rider got off to a flying start in the first free practice sessions for the Portuguese GP. At Portimao, the Spaniard clocked a time of 1:39.145 and also showed promising pace. While Marquez isn't particularly surprising given his current form, Nicolò Bulega performed well. The runner-up Superbike world champion, chosen to replace the injured Marc Marquez on the Lenovo team's Ducati GP25, finished on a high in fourteenth place, just nine tenths off the pace. He also finished three places ahead of teammate Francesco Bagnaia. Pecco didn't appear to be in any danger on his flying lap at the end of the session, but the start of the Portuguese GP proved to be very complicated.

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Marco Bezzecchi finished second. The Aprilia rider was 0.196 seconds slower, climbing in the final minutes. Jack Miller, riding the Prima Pramac Yamaha, finished second. Johann Zarco finished fourth aboard the LCR Honda. Rounding out the top five was the surprising Pol Espargaro, the KTM test rider replacing Maverick Vinales. Franco Morbidelli (V46 Ducati) finished sixth, followed by the Hondas of Luca Marini and Joan Mir. Pedro Acosta was ninth, and Fermin Aldeguer tenth. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) finished eleventh ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio: no Ducati GP25s were in the top 10. Raul Fernandez faced a scare: the Spaniard crashed on a fast corner and risked being struck by his Aprilia after the bike bounced off the barriers. The rider got up but headed to the medical center for a thorough check-up.

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The times of the first free practice session of the Portuguese MotoGP GP: