Torres will start from seventh position tomorrow, while Zannoni will start from ninth position

MotoE gets underway this weekend with the Grand Prix of Portugal. The electric category returns to action at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, where the first qualifying session of the season has been held today. Pole position has been taken by Brazilian rider Eric Granado, with Italian Nicholas Spinelli second just 67 thousandths of a second behind and reigning champion Mattia Casadei third, one tenth of a second behind. 

The Openbank Aspar Team has finished the first qualifying with both riders in the top nine. Jordi Torres will start from seventh place on a circuit that is complicated for his characteristics. The Spanish rider was half a second off pole and hopes to make up ground in tomorrow's races by taking advantage of the slipstream, as he is confident of his pace in the group.

Kevin Zannoni has finished with the ninth fastest time on his Openbank Aspar Team debut. The Italian set a time of 1:47.407 and, although he admits he was hoping for more, he is confident about his race aspirations. Zannoni has had a great adaptation to the team and has improved his pre-season lap time at the same track. The Openbank Aspar Team will compete tomorrow in the first two races of the MotoE World Championship season, which will be tomorrow at 12:15 and 16:10 local time.

7th Jordi Torres 1:47.033 (+0.563): "We have made a step forward in qualifying with the set-up, which is the important thing for tomorrow's races. It will be important to stay in the front group, get good laps and keep learning from our rivals. Portimao is a circuit with very long straights and a lot of acceleration and that can be a bit of a handicap for me, but we have the pace.”

9th Kevin Zannoni 1:47.407 (+0.937): "It was a good first day, although I expected a bit more in qualifying. We start from ninth position and we are already working on improving to be 100% tomorrow and make up positions in the race.”