At the beginning of Q2, Jack Miller picked up where he left off at the end of practice two on Friday afternoon: the Red Bull KTM factory rider set the all-time lap record in 1:37.549 minutes on his first flying lap temporarily back from Marc Márquez, who had set a 1:37.675 min in Q1.
However, as the final time hunts began, Miller crashed at turn 3 and was unable to counter the attacks of the competition.
First, last year’s Ducati team-mate Pecco Bagnaia took over 1st place in 1:37.290 min, but the defending champion was held up in the finish, while Marc Márquez, trailed by Enea Bastianini, stormed into pole position! With a 1:37.226 min, the Honda star stayed 0.064 seconds ahead of Bagnaia.
“I can’t explain this round because I don’t understand it myself,” grinned the eight-time world champion afterwards. “It’s true that we need the slipstream for a very fast lap with the Honda at the moment. It’s not the best way and not the most polite way to set a lap time, but it’s one of my strengths – and it’s not easy to follow a driver either.”
The front row was completed by Pramac-Ducati ace Jorge Martin, while local hero Miguel Oliveira managed fourth place in his first qualifying session on the Aprilia, leaving Miller behind.
The starting position for Yamaha hopefuls Fabio Quartararo in 11th place and Aleix Espargaró in 12th place is more difficult. The Aprilia factory driver crashed in turn 13 in his first Q2 run.
MotoGP-Ergebnis Q2, Portimão (25.3.):
1. Marc Márquez, Honda, 1:37.226 min
2. Bagnaia, Ducati, 1:37.290 mins, +0.064 secs
3. Martin, Ducati, 1:37.454, +0.228
4. Oliveira, Aprilia, 1:37,521, +0.295
5. Miller, KTM, 1:37,549, + 0,323
6. Bastianini, Ducati, 1:37.584, +0.358
7. Viñales, Aprilia, 1:37.598, +0.372
8. Bezzecchi, Ducati, 1:37.616, +0.390
9. Marini, Ducati, 1:37.622, + 0.396
10. Zarco, Ducati, 1:37.880, +0.654
11. Quartararo, Yamaha, 1:37,920, +0,694
12. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, 1:38.136, + 0.910
The rest of the starting lineup:
13. Alex Márquez, Ducati, 1:37,970 min
14. Mir, Honda, 1:38.064
15. Brad Binder, KTM, 1: 38,105
16. Kidneys, Honda, 1:38,133
17. Morbidelli, Yamaha, 1:38,335
18. Nakagami, Honda, 1:38,439
19. Augusto Fernández, GASGAS, 1:38,464
20. Raul Fernandez, Aprilia, 1:38.492
21. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, 1:38,778