Agencies
Portimao (Portugal)
Jorge Martin won a dramatic Portuguese Grand Prix as he hit the front in the opening lap and stayed in lead to the finish at the at the Portimao Circuit in Algarve on Sunday.
Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez collided in the fight for fifth with two laps to go and both went down in the gravel.
Teeanage rookie sensation Pedro Acosta secured a career-first MotoGP podium finish in third place as Enea Bastianini finished second.
Jorge Martin hit the front in the first lap and never relinquished his lead to win the Portuguese MotoGP on Sunday, in the second race of the season.
Bastianini, on a factory Ducati, started on pole but Martin, third at lights out, quickly took the lead on his Pramac Ducati going into turn one and dominated the race, making no errors.
Martin, runner-up to Bagnaia in the championship last season, suffered a horror crash at Portimao in 2021 from which he needed several surgeries to recover.
“Today I had no problems and I felt great... winning again is fantastic and I feel very competitive,” Martin told DAZN. “I was very focussed on the start, I knew it would be the key. I am happy because I’ve worked a lot... on every detail to feel 100 percent.”
The exciting 19-year-old Acosta, on a Gasgas-Tech3, seventh in qualifying, overtook Brad Binder’s KTM and then six-time MotoGP world champion Marquez on a Fresini Ducati, to move into fifth.
Italian defending double world champion Bagnaia kept Acosta at bay for a while, but the young Spaniard passed and gained a maiden podium after Maverick Vinales crashed out.
“The team has done an incredible job,” a delighted Acosta, 19, told DAZN. “It’s the first podium and look at all these people, today is the day of Gas Gas red.
“Thanks to all the team, we knew it would not be easy but now we have the first podium in the bag.”
Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) took P6 and was able to stay ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who took P7 after a weekend getting straight through to Q2 too. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) managed to come through to P8, ahead of home hero Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) in ninth. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) completed the top ten but by hundredths ahead of Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3).
