Portuguese MotoGP, Portimao – Race Results

• Portimao: 2023 MotoGP World Championship standings
• Portuguese MotoGP, Portimao – Sprint Race Results

Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia completes a perfect Portimao double, adding the main Sunday win to his Saturday Sprint victory.

Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi made their first podium appearances of the season in second and third after a dramatic early collision eliminated Marc Marquez and Miguel Oliveira.

Home hero Oliveira, who lost a podium (to Marquez) when he ran wide on the final lap of the Sprint, delighted the home fans by leading the early laps.

But the RNF Aprilia star’s race came to a violent conclusion on lap 3 when pole qualifier Marquez clipped the back of Jorge Martin under braking for the Turn 3 hairpin, then slammed into the side of Oliveira, running second to Bagnaia.

Marquez went to check on Oliveira, who was clearly in pain and taken to the medical centre, and later went to the RNF pit box to apologise. The Repsol Honda rider looks likely to receive a penalty for Argentina next weekend.

The RNF team report that Oliveira ‘has a contusion on his right upper leg. Luckily the x-ray didn’t show any broken bones’. 

That incident also took Sprint runner-up Martin out of podium contention, being pushed wide by the initial Marquez impact (and later ing from tenth), with Maverick Vinales taking over second ahead of KTM’s Jack Miller.

Vinales then began reeling in race leader Bagnaia, while Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez worked their way past the surprise of the weekend Miller.

Further back, Vinales’ factory Aprilia team-mate Aleix Espargaro and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo were working their way through the field after dropping to 14th and 15th on the opening lap, but ultimately wouldn’t crack the top 6.

Chasing his first Aprilia win and a slice of history as the first rider to win on three different brands of ‘MotoGP’ machines, Vinales hounded Bagnaia until the middle stages.

The Italian responded and took a one-second buffer into the final ten laps, but Vinales – on the hard front compared to the medium of Bagnaia – kept the Ducati within range until the chequered flag.

While Bezzecchi remained safe in third, a six-rider battle was raging behind with Johann Zarco snatching fourth from Alex Marquez and a brave Brad Binder, defying chronic neck pain.

After the frantic soft rear tyre battle in the 12-lap Sprint, harder rubber was fitted for all but Raul Fernandez in the full 25-lap race.

Enea Bastianini suffered a fracture to his shoulder after being taken out by Luca Marini’s fallen Ducati in the Sprint race, while Joan Mir has a long lap penalty to serve this afternoon for colliding with Fabio Quartararo.

GASGAS Tech3 rider Pol Espargaro was ruled out of the remainder of the event after suffering injuries to his back, jaw and lungs in a nasty Friday accident. An airfence was added at the scene of Espargaro’s accident (Turn 10) after the Spanish rider crossed the gravel trap and hit the barrier.

Bastianini and Espargaro are set to miss next weekend’s Argentine round as well.

KTM’s Brad Binder is riding with neck pain from a testing accident, while Aleix Espargaro recently underwent arm surgery.

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