Race report
MotoGP Portugal GP
MotoGP Portuguese GP: Bagnaia wins first-ever sprint race
Reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia claimed the first-ever sprint race victory after a last-lap mistake from long-time leader Jorge Martin at the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Lewis Duncan
Edited: Mar 25, 2023, 4:55 PM
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As part of a major shake-up to the MotoGP format for 2023, half-distance sprint races take place on the Saturday of every grand prix weekend.
Bagnaia converted second on the grid to make history as MotoGP’s first ever-sprint race winner, as he capitalised on a mistake from Pramac Ducati counterpart Jorge Martin on the final tour.
Poleman Marc Marquez completed the podium after home hero Miguel Oliveira ran off track on the last lap, while there were no points on offer for Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo after a nightmare sprint.
Claiming a shock pole earlier on Saturday, Marquez converted this to the holeshot off the line as Enea Bastianini leaped from sixth to second on the factory team Ducati.
Bastianini’s team-mate Bagnaia scythed up the inside of him at Turn 3, which left the door open for Pramac’s Martin to move into second briefly.
As Bastianini dropped down the order, Bagnaia carved back past Martin up the inside of Turn 4.
Behind, Quartararo lost ground from 11th on the grid and was 15th coming through Turn 1. By the end of the first lap he was 19th after being forced wide by a crashing Joan Mir at Turn 13.
The Honda rider made contact with Quartararo as he tried to make a move up the inside of him, and the incident is now under review.
At the start of the second lap of 12, Bagnaia and Martin blasted past Marquez to demote him to third on the run into Turn 1.
Martin would take the lead at the start of lap four as Marquez found his hands full with RNF Aprilia’s Oliveira and the KTM of Jack Miller.
Miller led Oliveira through on Marquez at Turn 1 on lap five, and come lap six Miller took second away from former team-mate Bagnaia at Turn 5.
The KTM rider was the only one in the leading group running the soft front tyre, and used that grip advantage to move into the lead on lap seven at Turn 13.
Miller’s lead was fleeting, however, as Martin eased ahead into Turn 1 on the following tour, while Bagnaia would come back through on lap 10.
Heading onto the penultimate lap, Martin’s lead stood at over half a second, but was wiped out by a hard-charging Bagnaia.
On the final lap, Martin ran wide under braking for Turn 5 and allowed Bagnaia to ease into the lead and take the chequered flag for the first sprint race.
Martin trailed by 0.307s at the chequered flag, while Marquez was gifted the final spot on the podium when Oliveira – who sat in third at the start of the penultimate lap – ran off track up at Turn 10.
That mistake dropped the Portuguese rider to seventh, with Miller just 0.086s behind Marquez in fourth.
The factory Aprilia pair of Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro survived late contact with each other to finish fifth and sixth, while Johann Zarco was eighth on his Pramac Ducati.
Alex Marquez took the final sprint point in ninth on his Gresini Ducati, while Yamaha’s Quartararo recovered to 10th after his lap-one woes.
RNF’s Raul Fernandez was 11th ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder, LCR Honda’s Alex Rins, Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR) and Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantoio.
Mir didn’t re-join the race after his lap-one crash and was joined on the sidelines by Tech3’s Augusto Fernandez.
Bastianini was caught up in Luca Marini’s crash at Turn 5 on the second lap and had to be taken to the medical centre for checks.
The incident was placed under review by the stewards, but no further action was taken. The Mir/Quartararo clash is currently under review.
VR46’s bad day was compounded by Marco Bezzecchi crashing out on lap three. Bastianini will go to hospital for further checks on his shoulder.
MotoGP Portuguese GP - Sprint race results:
Cla # Rider Bike Gap 1 1 Francesco Bagnaia
Ducati 2 89 Jorge Martin
Ducati 0.307 3 93 Marc Marquez
Honda 1.517 4 43 Jack Miller
KTM 1.603 5 12 Maverick Viñales
Aprilia 1.854 6 41 Aleix Espargaro
Aprilia 2.106 7 88 Miguel Oliveira
Aprilia 2.940 8 5 Johann Zarco
Ducati 5.595 9 73 Alex Marquez
Ducati 5.711 10 20 Fabio Quartararo
Yamaha 5.924 11 25 Raúl Fernández
Aprilia 8.160 12 33 Brad Binder
KTM 8.384 13 42 Alex Rins
Honda 11.288 14 21 Franco Morbidelli
Yamaha 17.138 15 30 Takaaki Nakagami
Honda 18.128 16 49 Fabio Di Giannantonio
Ducati 21.235 72 Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati 10 Laps 23 Enea Bastianini
Ducati 11 Laps 10 Luca Marini
Ducati 11 Laps 36 Joan Mir
Honda 37 Augusto Fernandez
GASGAS View full results
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