Jorge Martin, the Pramac Ducati rider in MotoGP, dominated the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimão. His main rivals in the championship, Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez, collided during the race. Marquez attempted a risky maneuver on Bagnaia at Turn 5, causing both riders to run off track and effectively ending their chances of victory.
A young and talented rookie named Pedro Acosta pulled off several impressive maneuvers throughout the race. He managed to overtake both Bagnaia and Marquez and was rewarded with a place on the podium after Maverick Vinales crashed on the final lap.
Martin took the lead from the start and controlled the race in the early stages. Vinales briefly challenged by passing Bagnaia, but Martin remained calm. Vinales eventually fell back and struggled to close the gap. Towards the end of the race, Vinales faced pressure and ended up suffering a dramatic crash on the finish straight.
This allowed Martin to secure first place, followed by his Ducati teammate. Acosta, riding for Tech3 Gas Gas, secured his first podium with an impressive performance.
Acosta initially trailed behind Brad Binder and Jack Miller, both riding KTM RC16 bikes. However, he managed to overtake them and then set his sights on Bagnaia. Acosta aggressively defended his position and prevented Bagnaia from counterattacking.
As a result, Marquez saw an opportunity to challenge Bagnaia. Unfortunately, their collision was similar to Marquez’s incident with Vinales in Le Mans last year. Bagnaia retired from the race, while Marquez remounted his bike and finished outside the points.
With this result, Bagnaia dropped to fourth place in the standings, 23 points behind Martin. Binder, who had a relatively calm race, secured fourth place, making three KTM RC16 bikes among the top five.
Marco Bezzecchi, riding for VR46 Ducati, struggled at the beginning but managed to climb to sixth place. Fabio Quartararo from Yamaha and Aleix Espargaro from Aprilia finished in eighth place after Espargaro was forced off track at Turn 1 during the first lap.
Despite the numerous incidents and retirements, the leading Honda, ridden by Joan Mir, only managed 12th place. It was a disappointing weekend for the new RC213V, as higher expectations were set for the team.
Before the collisions involving Bagnaia, Marquez, and Vinales, there were also crashes for Franco Morbidelli from Pramac Ducati, Alex Marquez from Gresini Ducati, and Raul Fernandez from RNF Aprilia.
