Overview
- Strong winds and rain kept most riders in the pits early, with only six posting times by mid-morning and Xavi Fores leading from Jonathan Rea under 2:00.
- By late afternoon, BikeSport News reported Garrett Gerloff fastest at 1:46.262 in mixed conditions, with Alberto Surra and Philipp Oettl the only others under 1:50.
- Ducati and BMW canceled their organised Portimao programme due to the forecast, and BMW shifted running to a Valencia track day with Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci, as reported by GPOne.
- Limited mileage at Jerez has delayed key evaluations for several riders, including Sam Lowes who logged about 25 laps there and set no time on day one at Portimao.
- Honda test riders Jonathan Rea and Tetsuta Nagashima completed brief stints, and ad-hoc entries included BSB riders plus the Team ERC BMW as teams sought any available track time.