Submitted by Zara Daniela on
The lightweight class got their first taster of the Algarve Circuit in a beautiful morning in Portugal and it was a 55-minute long one, for some extra acclimatisation. Jaume Masia seemed to be the quickest to take to the track, as he held onto top spot for much of the session, except for a brief interruption following a tumble at turn 15. That allowed Romano Fenati to shortly claim the lead, but the Italian get pushed back to second after a crash of his own at the same tricky turn 14-15 section. Championship leader Albert Arenas completed the top three, two tenths off top spot, although the unfamiliar track meant that gaps through the field were not as tight as we got accustomed to.
Sergio Garcia in fourth was the last rider within half a second of the leader, with Andrea Migno rounding out the top five. Raul Fernandez – who is joined by brother Adrian Fernandez as a replacement for injured Filip Salac – kept close in sixth position, with Deniz Oncu, Jeremy Alcoba, John McPhee and Gabriel Rodrigo joining the top ten.
Tony Arbolino, Celestino Vietti and Tatsuki Suzuki also posted times within a second of top spot, while title contender Ai Ogura took it easy after a moment at turn 15 and finished the first practice session in 26th position, nearly two seconds off the lead but with plenty of time to find some speed in Portimao.
Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap 1st | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Jaume MASIA | Honda | 1'48.896 | ||
| 2 | 55 | Romano FENATI | Husqvarna | 1'49.054 | 0.158 | 0.158 |
| 3 | 75 | Albert ARENAS | KTM | 1'49.109 | 0.213 | 0.055 |
| 4 | 11 | Sergio GARCIA | Honda | 1'49.288 | 0.392 | 0.179 |
| 5 | 16 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | 1'49.537 | 0.641 | 0.249 |
| 6 | 25 | Raul FERNANDEZ | KTM | 1'49.556 | 0.660 | 0.019 |
| 7 | 53 | Deniz ÖNCÜ | KTM | 1'49.598 | 0.702 | 0.042 |
| 8 | 52 | Jeremy ALCOBA | Honda | 1'49.609 | 0.713 | 0.011 |
| 9 | 17 | John McPHEE | Honda | 1'49.666 | 0.770 | 0.057 |
| 10 | 2 | Gabriel RODRIGO | Honda | 1'49.673 | 0.777 | 0.007 |
| 11 | 14 | Tony ARBOLINO | Honda | 1'49.705 | 0.809 | 0.032 |
| 12 | 13 | Celestino VIETTI | KTM | 1'49.807 | 0.911 | 0.102 |
| 13 | 24 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | Honda | 1'49.886 | 0.990 | 0.079 |
| 14 | 70 | Barry BALTUS | KTM | 1'49.929 | 1.033 | 0.043 |
| 15 | 23 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Honda | 1'49.984 | 1.088 | 0.055 |
| 16 | 7 | Dennis FOGGIA | Honda | 1'50.022 | 1.126 | 0.038 |
| 17 | 6 | Ryusei YAMANAKA | Honda | 1'50.220 | 1.324 | 0.198 |
| 18 | 21 | Alonso LOPEZ | Husqvarna | 1'50.314 | 1.418 | 0.094 |
| 19 | 9 | Davide PIZZOLI | KTM | 1'50.319 | 1.423 | 0.005 |
| 20 | 82 | Stefano NEPA | KTM | 1'50.328 | 1.432 | 0.009 |
| 21 | 92 | Yuki KUNII | Honda | 1'50.343 | 1.447 | 0.015 |
| 22 | 71 | Ayumu SASAKI | KTM | 1'50.413 | 1.517 | 0.070 |
| 23 | 99 | Carlos TATAY | KTM | 1'50.522 | 1.626 | 0.109 |
| 24 | 40 | Darryn BINDER | KTM | 1'50.680 | 1.784 | 0.158 |
| 25 | 54 | Riccardo ROSSI | KTM | 1'50.689 | 1.793 | 0.009 |
| 26 | 79 | Ai OGURA | Honda | 1'50.792 | 1.896 | 0.103 |
| 27 | 89 | Khairul Idham PAWI | Honda | 1'50.847 | 1.951 | 0.055 |
| 28 | 27 | Kaito TOBA | KTM | 1'50.879 | 1.983 | 0.032 |
| 29 | 50 | Jason DUPASQUIER | KTM | 1'50.885 | 1.989 | 0.006 |
| 30 | 73 | Maximilian KOFLER | KTM | 1'50.988 | 2.092 | 0.103 |
| 31 | 31 | Adrian FERNANDEZ | Honda | 1'51.382 | 2.486 | 0.394 |
