Maverick Vinales took advantage of a mistake from Francesco Bagnaia to claim victory in the MotoGP Sprint race at the Portuguese Grand Prix, marking his first win for Aprilia. Vinales has now made history as the first rider to win for three different manufacturers: Suzuki, Yamaha, and Aprilia. Marc Marquez secured his first top-three finish in Gresini Ducati colors, finishing second, while Jorge Martin, known for his expertise in Sprint races, came in third on the Pramac Ducati bike.
Jack Miller initially led the race after a strong start from fifth place, with Marquez and Bagnaia also making impressive advances from their grid positions. Marquez executed an incredible overtake on Vinales on the outside of Turn 12, while Aleix Espargaro continued his climb from the fifth row to eighth place. Bagnaia capitalized on a momentary lapse from Miller on the rundown to the straight, taking the lead and maintaining a comfortable gap in the following laps.
Vinales and Marquez continued to battle for podium positions until crashes from Alex Rins, Johann Zarco, and Brad Binder brought an end to their Sprint race aspirations. Despite a difficult start that dropped him to 11th, rookie Pedro Acosta fought his way back to seventh place, matching his original qualifying position.
Marquez briefly fell behind Vinales and Martin after going wide, while Bagnaia appeared to be in control and on track to extend his championship lead with a Sprint victory. However, with four laps remaining, the reigning champion misjudged the opening corner, allowing Vinales to seize the lead, with Martin in second and Marquez in third. Vinales then increased his lead over the Ducati riders, and his chances were further boosted when Marquez made a block pass on Martin on the second-to-last lap.
Meanwhile, Enea Bastianini, who started on pole position, dropped down the order and was unable to recover a podium finish, ultimately finishing in sixth place behind Miller on the KTM. Acosta earned three points for his overall campaign, Espargaro finished eighth, and Fabio Quartararo secured a valuable point for Yamaha with a ninth-place finish at Portimao.