Ducati’s Alex Marquez has recovered from a crash in qualifying and survived a spirited challenge from KTM’s Pedro Acosta to win a thrilling sprint race at the Portuguese Grand Prix, the 2025 MotoGP runner-up denying Acosta a maiden sprint success on Saturday.
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Marquez, who secured second in the championship behind older brother Marc Marquez (Ducati) at the previous round in Malaysia, came from fifth on the grid to take his second sprint win of the season, with pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) rounding out the podium over 12 laps.
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Marquez’s fourth career sprint win came after a brawl with Acosta that lasted several laps, Acosta making the early running after passing Bezzecchi for the lead on lap three, and then Marquez and Acosta swapping places for the lead four times on lap six, Acosta retaking the lead with five laps to go.
PIT TALK PODCAST: Renita and Matt preview this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix, assess the fight for third in the championship between Marco Bezzecchi, Francesco Bagnaia and Pedro Acosta, and ponder the 2027 rider market and Fabio Quartararo’s future with Yamaha. Listen to Pit Talk below.
Marquez then regained the lead for good at the first corner with four laps to go and broke away, a desperate Acosta push on the final lap repelled as he secured victory by just 0.120 seconds, Bezzecchi rounding out the podium, six-tenths of a second from victory.
“We needed to risk, starting from P5 was a little bit difficult but I did a really good start and by turn one I was behind them [Acosta and Bezzecchi],” Marquez said after his victory, which added to his sprint success at Silverstone in round seven in May.
“I was feeling really good and the last corner, our acceleration was really good so I was able to attack in that point. It’s true that I used too much tyre in that point to overtake, but that was my plan. The plan was perfect.”
The top three broke away from Yamaha’s front-row starter Fabio Quartararo after just two laps, the Frenchman retaining fourth place throughout, while two-time MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia was pushed back to eighth on the final lap.
Australia’s Jack Miller, from eighth on the grid after advancing to the top 10 from Q1 earlier on Saturday, had contact with Fermin Aldeguer (Ducati) and Ai Ogura (Aprilia) on lap one and was shuffled back down the pack, the Yamaha rider finishing 13.900secs from the win in 14th place.
Just 21 of the 22 riders took to the grid for the sprint, Aprilia’s Australian Grand Prix winner Raul Fernandez withdrawing before qualifying after suffering a left shoulder injury in a heavy practice crash on Friday afternoon at Portimao’s fearsome first corner.
The 25-lap Portuguese Grand Prix, round 21 of the 22-round MotoGP season, will take place at 12am on Monday (AEDT).