The first of Friday's two free practice sessions for the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril was washed out by heavy rain.

Just four of the 17 riders ventured out to try the submerged track, with rookie Hiroshi Aoyama the only rider to officially set a serious lap time.

The Interwetten Honda rider splashed to a 2min 21.217sec, which compares with the dry lap record of 1min 36.937sec.

Aoyama did 5 laps, while new Pramac Ducati rider Carlos Checa was credited with two slow laps. Checa is competing in his first MotoGP event since 2007.

The rest of the riders remained in the pits, with Gresini Honda's Marco Simoncelli passing the time by playing cards with his mechanics!

The second 45-minute Friday practice session is due to take place this afternoon.

Stormy weather is forecast for the rest of the weekend.