Jorge Martin dominated the Portuguese Grand Prix from start to finish in a race that saw him lead every single lap. Meanwhile, reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez were involved in a dramatic crash.
Martin made a perfect start and took the lead into Turn 1, quickly establishing a small gap with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales close behind.
On the opening lap, there was a slight collision between factory Ducati teammates Enea Bastianini and Bagnaia at Turn 4. Bastianini had the upper hand in this encounter.
In the early laps, rookie sensation Pedro Acosta and KTM’s Brad Binder battled for seventh place. Eventually, both riders overtook fellow KTM rider Jack Miller, who went wide at the opening turn.
Acosta then successfully passed Binder and started closing in on Gresini’s M. Marquez in fifth place. He made a similar move to the one he pulled off in Qatar, overtaking the eight-time champion on the following lap.
Acosta attempted a daring move on Bagnaia into Turn 1 but ended up having to settle behind the Italian for several laps.
With five laps to go, Acosta managed to overtake Bagnaia, who was struggling with tire wear, and secure a podium finish.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, M. Marquez tried to overtake Bagnaia at Turn 5 with three laps remaining. The move didn’t go as planned, and both riders collided, ending their chances of scoring valuable points.
On the final lap, Vinales, who had won the Sprint race, suffered a heartbreaking moment as his bike seemed to lock up, causing him to crash. It was later revealed that a gearbox issue was to blame, not rider error.
As a result, Bastianini claimed second place, while Acosta achieved his first podium finish in only his second MotoGP race, becoming the youngest rider in the MotoGP era to do so.
Aleix Espargaro had a challenging race, falling down to 17th place after starting 13th. However, he managed to work his way up the field and finish in a respectable eighth position.
The retirements of Bagnaia, M. Marquez, and Vinales allowed KTM to secure the third, fourth, and fifth positions, strengthening their position in the Constructors’ Championship. Yamaha and Honda also benefited from these incidents, earning valuable points after a difficult race in Qatar.
Fabio Quatararo delivered an impressive performance, finishing in seventh place, while Joan Mir secured 12th place. These results will have a significant impact on their prospects for the rest of the season.