Jose Antonio Rueda finishes in fourth position, while Vicente Perez is 14th.

The Portuguese Grand Prix began this Friday in Portimao under very particular track conditions. The dirt accumulated by overnight rain forced the cancellation of the morning Free Practice session, leaving Jose Antonio Rueda and Vicente Perez with track time only in the second and last session of the day. Rueda set the fourth best lap and Perez was 14th.

Rueda was prevented from going out on track at one of his favourite circuits in Free Practice due to the track conditions, but went on to give his all in Practice 1 to fight for the top positions. As the track improved, so he lowered his times, completing a total of 14 laps and placing just outside the Top 3. Thanks to the 1:47.997 he achieved on his twelfth attempt, he finished in fourth position.

Vicente Perez also avoided taking risks in Free Practice and did not go out on track before the session was cancelled. He instead concentrated on working on getting a good base setup with his KTM in the afternoon, even though the conditions did not make it easy. Perez made progress lap-after-lap, despite not feeling at 100% physically. He was 14th with a 1:48.792.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo duo will face the final Practice aiming to ensure a spot in Q2. Moto3 qualifying will take place on Saturday at 12:50 PM local time.

Results Practice 1
1. David Alonso (CFMoto) 1:47.202
2. Joel Kelso (KTM) 1:47.239 +0.037
3. Matteo Bertelle (Honda) 1:47.881 +0.679
4. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:47.997 +0.795
5. Riccardo Rossi (KTM) 1:48:039 + 837
14. Vicente Perez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.792 +1.590

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Today was a bit strange, with us not being able to ride in Free Practice. In order to analyse everything well we have to wait until tomorrow, because I think the track will be cleaner then. Today, going out after Moto2 and MotoGP, the track was a little better, but we can’t know 100% where we are. I’m confident that tomorrow the conditions will be much better, so we’ll work to get a good time in qualifying.”

 

#21 VICENTE PEREZ

“It has been a hard day for me, since I had a stomach complaint and I didn’t have much strength. I went out looking to have the best possible session and get a feel for this circuit, since I couldn’t ride here in the tests. But in the end we salvaged things and we finished in the Q2 spots. Now it’s time to recover for tomorrow and do our best. I think we can do a good job and get a good position on the starting grid”