Ideal conditions saw several MotoGP riders make the most of circuit time, beginning to tackle the complicated Portimao circuit ahead of racing there for world championship points.
It marked a return to the circuit for Stefan Bradl, Álex Márquez getting his first taste of it, with both riders left impressed and excited by the prospect of returning there to race.
The Algarve International Circuit will debut on the 2020 MotoGP World Championship calendar as the final round of the series from November 20 to 22.
Ahead of its debut, MotoGP test riders have been sampling the new circuit on MotoGP machines. Bradl has previous experience of the track, having raced the Honda CBR1000RR in World Superbikes there in 2017, but last week was offered a first chance to ride the Honda RC213V at the Portuguese venue.
The test provided Bradl a chance to refresh his memory of the track and begin to work on finding a base setting for the RC213V ahead of the season finale. Stefan ended the day with a best time of 1’41.726.
Alex Marquez joined Bradl on track, riding the Honda RC213V-S, to familiarize himself with the layout of the demanding circuit. The laps completed by Marquez will help to give the MotoGP rookie an initial direction to follow with bike set-up and allow him to spend more time refining the setting of his Repsol Honda RC213V when the race weekend begins.
After enjoying the dramatic elevation changes and a roller coaster layout of the track, Marquez now turns his attention back to racing.
Bradl will spend another day with the RC213V at the Portuguese track before heading to Le Mans for round 10 of the MotoGP World Championship. Marquez is already on his way to Le Mans, motivated to continue adapting to the MotoGP class.
Photo courtesy Honda Europe
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