MotoGP Portuguese GP: Acosta places third, Bagnaia and Marquez collide, and Martin wins.
Pramac’s Jorge Martin dominated a wild MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix in which Pedro Acosta grabbed a maiden podium, while defending champion Francesco Bagnaia and fellow Ducati rider Marc Marquez collided.
Starting from third on the grid, Martin took the lead after grabbing the holeshot and went on to win his first Grand Prix of the year.
Drama developed behind Martin when, in an odd incident on the last lap, Ducati’s Endea Bastianini passed Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales for second place.
Before the winner of the sprint race slid off at Turn 1 and crashed on the dirt run-off area, Vinales slowed down on the pit straight, allowing Bastianini to pass.
After battling through from seventh on the grid to secure his first MotoGP podium in just his second grand prix, this moved Tech3 GasGas rookie Pedro Acosta into third.
Just one lap earlier, at Turn 5, Marquez and Bagnaia clashed as the former tried to pass for fifth.
Marquez of Gresini launched himself into the Turn 5 right-hander by going around the inside of Bagnaia, although he went a little wide in the process.
The two clashed as he tried to defend the line by cutting back. Though both managed to get back on their horses, Bagnaia withdrew into the pits, and Marquez came in sixteenth.
After the race, the stewards will examine the event.
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
As Bagnaia started the grand prix in fourth place on the first lap, Pramac’s Martin, Vinales, and Bastianini soon formed the lead group.
Starting from the eighth position on the grid, Marquez nearly tagged Bagnaia during their first lap duel with Jack Miller of KTM at Turn 5.
Bagnaia and Marquez both managed to leap Miller, who ultimately found himself caught between Brad Binder, the teammate from KTM, and Acosta from Tech3.
On lap seven of 25, Acosta passed Binder to go up to sixth place, and the following lap, Marquez took fifth place.
After that, the youngster followed Bagnaia, whose pace couldn’t keep up with the leaders, until lap 21, when he finally passed for fourth place after multiple failed efforts.
Marquez appeared to have given up on finishing in fourth place in the race, but he later made a comeback when Acosta passed Bagnaia and nearly passed the factory Ducati on lap 21.
Before everything went horribly wrong, Marquez attempted another go at Bagnaia on lap 23, moving Binder and Miller, the factory KTM team, up to the top five.
At the halfway point, Martin increased his advantage by a second and maintained it, even though Vinales and Bastianini managed to post late best laps.
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The Aprilia abruptly slowed along the pit straight, allowing Bastianini to pass Vinales with ease as Martin started his last lap. Acosta moved up to third after Vinales’s incident, but Bastianini was already well clear.
According to Aprilia, Vinales’ bike experienced a possible gearbox problem, which made him slow down on the last lap before crashing.
Martin finished 0.882 seconds ahead of Bastianini, with Acosta coming in third, 4.480 seconds behind.
At the finish, Binder led Miller by five seconds. Marco Bezzecchi, riding a VR46 Ducati, finished sixth, ahead of Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha and Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia.
Miguel Oliveira, a local hero, finished ninth on the Trackhouse Racing Aprilia, while Fabio Di Giannantonio, riding the sister VR46 bike, finished tenth.
On the sibling Tech3 GasGas, Augusto Fernandez finished eleventh. The top four finishers were Joan Mir of Honda, Alex Rins of Yamaha, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR), and Johann Zarco (LCR).
After a tumble on the first lap, Franco Morbidelli (Pramac) finished in eighteenth place, while Alex Marquez (Gresini) and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse) fell out early.
Following his DNF, Bagnaia is now 23 points behind Martin in the title, with Martin leading Binder by 18 points.
