Bagnaia first king of the MotoGP Sprint

It was a historic Saturday for the MotoGP with the 12 laps of the first Sprint race. Falls, fighting at all levels, an event of crazy intensity and a very fine winner made it a real success

If all the drivers admitted a hint of apprehension before the start of this short event, Johann Zarco was delighted on the grid with this Sprint formula well suited to his instinctive driving. He is rewarded with the point of a good eighth place. “I got off to a good start but got pushed around in the third corner. In some turns with the wind it was hot. It's good training for tomorrow with lessons on starting, fights, reflexes, overtaking zones,... It would be great to play in the Top 5 tomorrow. »

Lots of hopes for Johann Zarco © Michelin

Marquez took the lead when the lights went out while Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini and Francesco Bagnaia fought a fierce battle between Ducati riders for second place. Bagnaia unleashed the power of his Desmosedici 2023 to take the lead at the end of the first lap. At the heart of the peloton, fabio quartararo was hit by Joan Mir and slipped to the back of the standings while the Honda driver had to retire.

At the start of the second lap, Luca Marini lost his Ducati and violently sent Enea Bastianini to the ground. The massacre continued with the fall of Marco Bezzechi while Jorge Martin took control of the race.

Starting from fifth place, Jack Miller came back into the leader's exhausts halfway through the race. Who could have imagined a KTM at such a party? Quartararo entered the Top 10 at the cost of a heroic comeback with his sights set on the first 9 drivers grouped together in less than a second.

Jack Miller enjoys Portimāo © MotoGP

In the last 2 laps, Marc Marquez, who had slipped to sixth place, brought his enormous experience to bear and came back on Oliveira to challenge him for the last step of the podium. He made the Portuguese crack to take third place. Up front, victory was to be decided between Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagniaia. Martin took the lead on the last lap but Bagnaia made a final push to win. Marc Marquez completed a dream day by taking third place and the Bronze medal.

Francesco Bagnaia: “I had so much fun, it’s Fun!” I took my time in the first few laps and then I pushed like crazy to take the lead. I thought it would be shorter than that, but in the end it's still long when we're fighting (laughs). »

Jorge Martin: “I wanted that first place, but Pecco was so fast. I made a small mistake on the last lap and he took advantage of it. I've been having a bit of trouble with the soft rear tire since the start of the weekend so tomorrow with the medium it will be better. »

Marc Marquez: “It was physical, I mainly tried to survive! I compensated for a lack of performance by braking at the limit. We did a great job, thanks to the team who knew how to evolve the bike to give me confidence. It gives me strength. It's a good start to the season but it will be tougher tomorrow over 25 laps. »

See you tomorrow at 15:00 pm for the main race of the Portuguese Grand Prix

Classification of the Sprint Race of the Portuguese Grand Prix MotoGP

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