The 21-year-old Salač was eleventh in the opening practice session at the circuit in Portimao, but in the second session he improved his time, just like the other drivers. The performance of 1:42.730 earned him third place, 241 thousandths of a second away from British Jake Dixon in second place.
Qualification is scheduled for Saturday in Portugal, Sunday’s race will start at 1:15 p.m. Last year, Salač took 14th place in Portimao.
In the second practice session of the royal MotoGP category, Spaniard Pol Espargaro had a heavy crash, losing control of his KTM at high speed and ending up in protective tires. The rider was taken to the hospital in Faro, where doctors diagnosed him with a lung contusion and fractures of the jaw and thoracic vertebra.
