The third Grand Prix of the season started this morning in mixed conditions. With some patches on the asphalt after some rain last night, Free Practice one was tricky for both, Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona.
Yet, Petrucci emerged in a fine 10th position by the end of FP1 today. In FP2, he improved his lap time by 1.77 seconds and was missing out the top 10 by just half a second. Meanwhile Lecuona, fresh from surgery on his right arm, was aiming to regain the feeling aboard his KTM RC16, concluded day one in Portugal 1.274 seconds behind his teammate. In the second session of the day, the Spanish youngster went 2.5 seconds quicker than this morning. Both Tech3 KTM Factory Racing riders aim to make another step in FP3 tomorrow at 9.55 local time (10.55 CET).
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Danilo Petrucci
Position: 19th
Time: 1:41.187
Laps: 31
“I was really curious to try the bike here, because it’s just the second track for us. I can state, that I’m happy about my feeling, although I’m not satisfied about the result of today. We have to make some modifications on the setup and we are working to find my pace.”
“This is a good opportunity for us. For sure, we still need to improve, but I feel ok, better compared to Qatar. My lap time is still not as fast as I wish it to be, but we have some ideas for tomorrow and for sure, we will improve.”
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Iker Lecuona
Position: 21st
Time: 1:42.461
Laps: 38
“It’s the first time for me with the GP bike here in Portimao, also with my arm after the surgery. I feel ok, although my arm gives me a bit of discomfort. Still, I tried to work as well as possible, learning the track, which is very technical and difficult. I improved, but I know I need to continue, as I’m quite far from the front. I hope we can speed up tomorrow in FP3 and try to fight to get a spot in Q2.”
