Portuguese MotoGP: Unstoppable Bagnaia wins main and sprint races

The 2023 Portuguese GP marked the return of MotoGP action and saw a flurry of activity in the opening laps, mainly due to an incident where Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez took out RNF Aprilia’s Miguel Oliviera (the only Portuguese rider on the grid). 

1. Brad Binder goes from 14th to 6th; Jack Miller 7th 
2. Fabio Quartararo finishes 8th
3. Alex Marquez finishes first race on Ducati machinery in 5th

Four Ducatis in top 5, factory KTM duo eclipse Quartararo

Save for factory Aprilia rider, Maverick Vinales, who battled with Bagnaia for much of the first half of the race, no other non-Ducati rider was able to breach the top five. This solidifies Ducati’s status as one of the strongest and most consistent manufacturers on the grid. 

Ex-factory Ducati rider and now official KTM rider Jack Miller battled for the podium early on before a late move by Johann Zarco saw him lose a few spots to take the chequered flag in seventh place. Sunday man Brad Binder, despite his sore neck due to a crash on Saturday, finished the race in sixth place, having started 14th on the grid. Factory Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo came into his own late into the race and finished eighth, but was on the back foot since he started the race 11th. 

Marquez handed penalty for Argentenian GP

At the beginning of Lap 2, Marc Marquez tried to overtake Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin with a late braking move entering into the first corner after the start-finish straight. However, Martin took a tighter line, which meant Marquez couldn’t get his bike stopped in time, and instead clipped Martin’s leg taking both himself and home racer Miguel Oliveira (who was running third at the time) out of contention. For this incident, Marc Marquez has been awarded a double long-lap penalty at the upcoming Argentinian GP.

2023 MotoGP championship standings

With his dominant victory in both the sprint race on Saturday and the main race, Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia has had a dominant start to his season. With his second place in the main race and a good finish in the sprint race, Maverick Vinales is running second in the riders championship. 

MotoGP heads to the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina the coming weekend.   

2023 Portuguese GP results

What do you think of the incident involving Marquez and Oliveira? Is the penalty too little too late? Let us know in the comments below.