Perfect Pecco! After the sprint, Bagnaia dominated the main race at the Portuguese GP

Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia made MotoGP history as the first ever winner of Saturday’s sprint. He was unbeatable in the grand prix itself, and had no major problems in scoring a double triumph at the Portuguese GP. Maverick Viñales on the Aprilla machine and Marco Bezzecchi on the Ducati completed the perfect Bagnaio podium.

The road to a full 37 points from one race weekend began for Francesco Bagnaiu on Saturday, when the first ever half-distance sprint took place. The Italian came out of the duel with Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez best and became the debut winner of Saturday’s event.

An unusual short circuit for the eight-time champion

The reigning world champion found himself in the grip of a well-starting Martin and Márquez coming out of pole position after the start. This was exploited by the home hero on the Aprilia, Miguel Oliveira, who squeaked into the lead during the first lap.

Bagnaia, after making contact with the front row riders, returned to at least third place after a few corners behind Martín and Oliveira. Márquez, meanwhile, dropped back to fourth, his highly optimistic manoeuvre into turn three after the start looking less than controlled.

The Spaniard attempted something similar on lap three, only this time the whole situation resulted in a nasty-looking accident. Márquez hit the rear wheel of Martín’s bike and crashed at high speed into the unfortunate Oliveira, who had lost the lead to Bagna a lap earlier.

The crowd favourite was thus out of the game and the very experienced rider was immediately met with a huge cheer from the very spectators present. Márquez’s post-race crash was also punished by the race directors, who handed the 30-year-old Cervera native a double long lap penalty.

Whoever survives will score

Only 20 riders started the race. Enea Bastianini and Pól Espargaró suffered injuries in Saturday’s sprint and free practice respectively. This leaves only 18 riders in the field, with the top 15 taking points in the main race.

Meanwhile, Viñales has closed the gap to leader Bagnai to less than half a second in places. Third place went to Bezzecchi, who merely controlled the situation in front and behind him. Behind this trio, however, the most exciting part of the Portuguese VC was taking place. Marc Márquez’s brother Álex fought his way up from 12th place to join the five-way battle for fourth.

The field thinned to 17 on lap 11 when Fabio di Giannantonio pitted to retire from the race. On the fringes of the top 10 circled potential world title challenger Fabio Quartararo, who was kept company by Martín, who dropped to the second half of the field after contact with Márquez on lap three.

Lap 18 brought a crash for Martín. The other dozen were out of the running, leaving just 16 riders in the main race. While the top three were playing more of a waiting game, the group battling for fourth place were not giving themselves anything for free. KTM riders Jack Miller and Brad Binder were pressing Álex Márquez and Aleix Espargaró and Johann Zarco were creating pressure from behind.

Luca Marini and Raúl Fernández also retired in the final few laps. These incidents ensured that whoever finished would take away the premiere points from Portugal this season.

A deadly battle for fourth place, Bagnaia easily the winner

Bagnaia continued to hold a lead of around one second over Viñales. The Spaniard’s loss to the Italian therefore did not suggest that the factory Aprilia rider would mount any sort of attack for the lead before the end of the race. Although third-placed Bezzecchi had a better pace than the group behind him, the opposite was true for the leading pair.

Behind this trio, a breathtaking spectacle unfolded on the run-in to the final lap. Zarco, who tended to stay at the back, took advantage of the tussle between the KTM riders and Márquez to sneak his satellite ducati into fourth place. Binder overpowered his teammate Miller, while Quartararo snatched eighth place from Espargaro after a mistake of his own, also looking to wrest some better position for himself.

Bagnaia crossed the line first ahead of Viñales by less than seven tenths of a second. Bezzecchi took bronze ahead of Zarco and Márquez. In the end, the six-strong group was within 1.2 seconds, with just half a second between Zarco in fourth and Quartara in eighth.

MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix results (Race 1/21, 25 laps = 114.8 km; top 10 only):

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 41::25.401
2. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) +0.687
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Ita., Ducati) +2.726
4. Johann Zarco (Fra., Ducati) +8.060
5. Álex Márquez (Span., Ducati) +8.125
6. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) +8.247
7. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) +8.381
8. Fabio Quartararo (Fra., Yamaha) +8.543
9. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) +9.294
10. Álex Rins (Span., Honda) +11.591

MotoGP riders’ standings for the 2023 season (after race 1/21; top 10 only)::

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 37
2. Maverick Viñales (Sp., Aprilia) 25
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Ita., Ducati) 16
4. Johann Zarco (Fra., Ducati) 15
5. Jack Miller (Aus., KTM) 15
6. Álex Márquez (Span., Ducati) 12
7. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) 11
8. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) 10
9. Jorge Martín (Span., Ducati) 9
10. Fabio Quartararo (Fra., Yamaha) 8

Source: MotoGP