MotoGP Portimao, Portugal - Full Qualifying Results
| MotoGP Portimao, Portugal - Full Qualifying Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | 1'42.003s | 9/9 | 341k |
| 2 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.195s | 9/9 | 331k |
| 3 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | +0.232s | 9/9 | 334k |
| 4 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.500s | 7/8 | 339k |
| 5 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.713s | 7/8 | 333k |
| 6 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)* | +0.713s | 9/9 | 335k |
| 7 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.900s | 9/9 | 336k |
| 8 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +1.176s | 9/9 | 331k |
| 9 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.572s | 6/8 | 331k |
| 10 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.829s | 7/7 | 333k |
| 11 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +2.063s | 7/8 | 333k |
| 12 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +2.707s | 5/8 | 335k |
| Qualifying 1: | ||||||
| 13 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | 1'47.936s | 8/8 | 328k |
| 14 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | 1'49.332s | 5/5 | 326k |
| 15 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21)* | 1'49.639s | 6/6 | 320k |
| 16 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) | 1'49.695s | 6/7 | 319k |
| 17 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 1'49.889s | 7/7 | 320k |
| 18 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21) | 1'50.618s | 2/6 | 329k |
| 19 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 1'50.702s | 7/7 | 316k |
| 20 | Remy Gardner | AUS | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | 1'50.953s | 3/4 | 313k |
| 21 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | 1'51.308s | 3/6 | 326k |
| 22 | Darryn Binder | RSA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)* | 1'51.639s | 7/8 | 317k |
| 23 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | 1'52.3s | 3/7 | 321k |
| 24 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | 1'53.603s | 6/6 | 320k |
| 25 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | No Time | 0/0 | - |
* Rookie
Official Portimao MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati 1m 38.725s (2015)
Fastest race lap:
Alex Rins SPA Suzuki 1m 39.450s (2021)
Fastest practice time:
Miguel Oliveira POR KTM 1m 50.552s (wet)
Johann Zarco seals pole position from Joan Mir and Aleix Espargaro during a frantic qualifying for the 2022 Portimao MotoGP.
After a dramatic Q1, the first session of the weekend to see slick tyres, the Q2 participants knew they needed to brave the damp patches on dry rubber to have any chance of pole position.
Birthday boy Alex Marquez used his Q1 knowledge to take early control, the LCR Honda rider then responding when Mir briefly moved ahead in the middle stages.
Marc Marquez then made it a family one-two, before Mir split the Hondas.
With track conditions improving by the minute, Zarco was next to feature on top, with countryman Fabio Quartararo slotting into second.
The pole changes continued with Mir, Zarco and Miller rotating into P1. Miller looked set to be deprived by both Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo, but an accident for Pol Espargaro in the final sector saw both Marquez and Quartararo stripped of their best laps.
But Miller still wasn't safe.
Mir and then Zarco saved their best for last to leapfrog ahead of the Ducati, the Suzuki rider sealing his best MotoGP qualifying. Meanwhile, Aprilia's Espargaro nudged Miller down to the second row, where he will be joined by reigning champion Quartararo and VR46 rookie Marco Bezzecchi.
Marc Marquez paid a higher price for losing his best lap and will start just ninth, just ahead of team-mate Espargaro, with the KTMs of local star and practice leader Miguel Oliveira plus team-mate Brad Binder eleventh and twelfth.
Reigning title runner-up Francesco Bagnaia spent Q2 undergoing medical checks after landing heavily on his right shoulder during a nasty highside on his first slick laps of the weekend. in Qualifying 1.
If passed fit, the Ducati star will need to start Sunday's race from 25th and last.
Other big names failing to reach Q2 were Suzuki's Alex Rins (23rd) and world championship leader Enea Bastianini, the Gresini Ducati rider being left 18th after also suffering a hard fall in Q1.
After four overseas events, the European leg of the 2022 MotoGP season begins at Portimao this weekend with Gresini’s Enea Bastianini leading the world championship standings by five points over Suzuki’s Alex Rins, after victories in two of the opening rounds.
Aleix Espargaro is 11 points from the top for Aprilia, with Rins’ team-mate Joan Mir, Yamaha’s reigning MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo and KTM’s Brad Binder completing the early top six.
2020 champion Mir, Ducati’s reigning title runner-up Francesco Bagnaia and Repsol Honda’s six-time premier-class champion Marc Marquez (who has missed two races due to diplopia) are among those still seeking a first podium of the season.
The previous Portimao MotoGP rounds, all held since November 2020, have been won by home star Miguel Oliveira (KTM), Quartararo and Bagnaia respectively.
Portimao MotoGP schedule (UK time)
Friday April 22
9am-9.45am - Moto3 Free Practice 1
9.55am-10.40am - MotoGP Free Practice 1
10.55am-11.35am - Moto2 Free Practice 1
1.15pm-1.55pm - Moto3 Free Practice 2
2.10pm-2.55pm - MotoGP Free Practice 2
3.10pm-3.50pm - Moto2 Free Practice 2
Saturday April 23
9am-9.40am - Moto3 Free Practice 3
9.55am-10.40am- MotoGP Free Practice 3
10.55am-11.35am - Moto2 Free Practice 3
12.35pm-.12.50pm - Moto3 Qualifying 1
1pm-1.15pm - Moto3 Qualifying 3
1.30pm-2pm - MotoGP Free Practice 4
2.10pm-2.25pm - MotoGP Qualifying 1
3.10pm-3.25pm - Moto2 Qualifying 1
3.35pm-3.50pm - Moto2 Qualifying 2
Sunday April 24
9.20am-9.30am - Moto3 warm-up
9.40am-10am - MotoGP warm-up
10.10am-10.20am - Moto2 warm-up
11.20am - Moto3 race
1pm - MotoGP race
2.30pm - Moto2 race
| COTA: MotoGP World Championship standings | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Points | Diff. | |
| 1 | ^2 | Enea Bastianini | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP21) | 61 | |
| 2 | ^2 | Alex Rins | 0 | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | 56 | (-5) |
| 3 | ˅2 | Aleix Espargaro | 0 | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | 50 | (-11) |
| 4 | ^2 | Joan Mir | 0 | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | 46 | (-15) |
| 5 | = | Fabio Quartararo | 0 | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 44 | (-17) |
| 6 | ˅4 | Brad Binder | 0 | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | 42 | (-19) |
| 7 | ^4 | Jack Miller | 0 | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | 31 | (-30) |
| 8 | = | Johann Zarco | 0 | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | 31 | (-30) |
| 9 | ˅2 | Miguel Oliveira | 0 | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | 28 | (-33) |
| 10 | ˅1 | Jorge Martin | 0 | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | 28 | (-33) |
| 11 | ˅2 | Pol Espargaro | 0 | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | 23 | (-38) |
| 12 | ^2 | Francesco Bagnaia | 0 | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | 23 | (-38) |
| 13 | ^2 | Marc Marquez | 0 | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | 21 | (-40) |
| 14 | ˅1 | Maverick Viñales | 0 | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | 19 | (-42) |
| 15 | ˅3 | Franco Morbidelli | 0 | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 14 | (-47) |
| 16 | = | Takaaki Nakagami | 0 | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 12 | (-49) |
| 17 | = | Luca Marini | 0 | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | 10 | (-51) |
| 18 | = | Marco Bezzecchi | 0 | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)* | 7 | (-54) |
| 19 | ˅4 | Darryn Binder | 0 | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)* | 6 | (-55) |
| 20 | ^2 | Alex Marquez | 0 | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 4 | (-57) |
| 21 | = | Andrea Dovizioso | 0 | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) | 3 | (-58) |
| 22 | = | Remy Gardner | 0 | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | 1 | (-60) |
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
