MotoGP, Portugal, Race: Jorge Martin wins in Portugal, Oliveira 9th

Jorge Martin was the winner of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix race. The Spaniard from Pramac Ducati crossed the finish line 882 thousandths ahead of Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Ducati) and 5.362 seconds ahead of third place, Pedro Acosta.

Brad Binder and Jack Miller, both on factory KTMs, and Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) completed the top 6 in this order, with Portuguese Miguel Oliveira finishing in ninth place. Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez collide and abandon the race while competing for a place on the podium.

Race film

Jorge Martin won the Portimão MotoGP, while Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez collided at the end. Enea Bastianini finishes in a comfortable second place, on a great day for Pedro Acosta who climbed to the last step of the podium. A brilliant start from Jorge Martin saw him take the lead from Enea Bastianini at the entrance to turn one. Francesco Bagnaia was third before losing the position to sprint winner Maverick Vinales, and before Marc Márquez’s attack. There was then a slight contact between Bagnaia and Márquez on the exit of turn 5, with Bagnaia managing to hold off the Gresini driver. There was also a crash on the first lap for Franco Morbidelli, while a second Ducati, Alex Marquez, crashed on the second lap, at turn 5. At the front, Martin continued to lead although Vinales closed in, while the three KTMs of Jack Miller, Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta were fighting for sixth, seventh and eighth. Miller then lost positions to both drivers on lap five after losing a place at turn one when Binder dived on the inside. After seeing Bastianini set the fastest lap of the race, Vinales responded by doing the same and reducing Martin’s lead to three tenths. In the battle for sixth place, Acosta managed a brilliant overtake on Binder before setting the fastest lap of the race. The sensational rookie caught and overtook Márquez immediately on the 8th lap, whilst recovering Bagnaia for P4. After several laps behind Bagnaia, Acosta finally managed a maneuver in turn 1, but almost lost the front, which allowed the Ducati rider to pass again. Then, a mistake on lap 16 caused Acosta to lose time to Bagnaia, while Martin set the fastest lap of the race. With just five laps to go, Acosta finally made his move at Bagnaia after jumping to the inside at Turn 3. This gave Márquez a feeling of fifth place, as the former Honda driver almost collided with the factory Honda rider. Ducati at turn 13. Márquez applied pressure before trying for position at turn five, but after running a little wide, Márquez was hit by Bagnaia as both riders crashed. Márquez returned to his bike, but only managed to finish 16th, while Bagnaia returned to the pits and retired. More drama followed on the final lap when Vinales crashed out of third place after appearing to think the race was over with one lap to go. Where have we seen this before? Viñales ran wide before losing his Aprilia, giving Acosta the podium. Miguel Oliveira was consistently in the top 10, fluctuating several positions to finish in ninth place, which delighted his fans present at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.

MotoGP race result, Portimão: 1. Martin, Ducati, 25 laps in 41m18s1382. Bastianini, Ducati, +0.882 sec 3. Acosta, KTM, +5.3624. Binder, KTM, +11,129 5. Miller, KTM, +16,437 6. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +19,403 7. Quartararo, Yamaha, +20,130 8. Espargaro, Aprilia, +21,549 9. Oliveira, Aprilia, +23,929 10. Di Giannantonio , Ducati, +28,195 11. Fernández, KTM, +28,244 12. Mir, Honda, +29,287 13. Rins, Yamaha, +31,334 14. Nakagami, Honda, +34,932 15. Zarco, Honda, +38,267 16. M Márquez, Ducati, +40,174 17. Marini, Honda, +40,775 18. Morbidelli, Ducati, +52,362

World Championship standings after 4 of 42 races:1. Martin, 60 points. 2. Binder, 42. 3. Bastianini, 39. 4. Bagnaia, 37. 5. Acosta, 28. 6. Marc Márquez, 27. 7. Aleix Espargaró, 25. 8. Vinales, 19. 9. Miller, 16. 10. Di Giannantonio, 15. 11. Quartararo, 15. 12. Alex Márquez, 13. 13. Bezzecchi, 12. 14. Oliveira, 8. 15. Mir, 7. 16. Fernández, 5. 17. Zarco, 5. 18. Kidneys, 3. 19. Nakagami, 2.

Constructors’ World Championship:1. Ducati, 71 points. 2. KTM, 50. 3. Aprilia, 35. 4. Yamaha, 15. Honda, 8.