Pirelli Portuguese Round Free Practice

Can Öncü returned to the top of the timesheets on Friday, March 27, 2026, delivering a dominant performance in the weekend's only practice session. Öncü’s objective was to establish a benchmark early, and he succeeded by clocking a 1:42.670 lap.

His pace on the Ten Kate Yamaha was consistently strong, placing him over half a second clear of the chasing pack and signaling his intent to challenge for his first win of the 2026 campaign. The session highlighted the competitive diversity of the 2026 field, with the new ZXMOTO factory project continuing to impress.

Valentin Debise secured second place, finishing 0.633 seconds behind Öncü, while Lucas Mahias and Albert Arenas ensured three Yamahas finished inside the top four. Philipp Oettl rounded out the top five on the Feel Racing Ducati, maintaining a gap of less than a second to the leader.

The session saw several technical setbacks, notably for Jorge Alcoba, who stopped at Turn 3 early in the session, but the front-runners largely avoided incident as they focused on mastering the technical final sector of the Portimão circuit.