Defending world champion, Fabio Quartararo hasn’t had the best start to the season but the latest race cemented his position once again at the top as he pipped Johann Zarco on the Pramac Ducati to take the victory.
View PhotosFabio Quartararo leads the points table with 69 points alongside Alex Rins who finished P4
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo won the dramatic Portuguese Grand Prix at Portimao, claiming his lead on the points table for this year’s championship. The defending world champion hasn’t had the best start to the season but the latest race cemented his position once again at the top as he pipped Johann Zarco on the Pramac Ducati to take the victory. Coming in third was Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia rounding off the podium finishers in the race. This was Quartararo’s first win since the British GP in August last year.
The race started with Zarco on pole looking to convert the same into a victory but a slow start pushed the rider down to P4, while Joan Mir of Suzuki took the lead after starting second on the grid. A strong start also catapulted Quartararo from fifth to third while Zarco moved to second by the start of the second lap. But Quartararo was quick to move up to second soon after with Mir being sixth tenths clear at the front. Zarco struggled to keep pace with Ducati’s Jack Miller and LCR Honda rider Alex Marquez moved up to third and fourth respectively. By the second lap though, Zarco was back in contention moving up to P3.
At the front, Quartararo was charging on Mir and was soon at an attacking distance and made his move on the final corner as passed the Suzuki rider to take the lead on Lap 4. It didn’t take long for Quartararo to break away from Mir who was tailed by a second’s length. The 2020 MotoGP champion was now fending off an attack from Zarco. The Pramac rider spent too much time attempting to pass Mir only to find success on Lap 16. Mir was now battling it out with Miller for the final spot on the podium the rider was a casualty as the factory Ducati rider crashed on Lap 19, taking out the Suzuki rider along with him.
This promoted Aleix Espargaro to third with the Argentina GP winner battling it out with Alex Marquez, while KTM’s Miguel Oliveira and a Suzuki’s Alex Rins were closing in. Rins was definitely one of the star riders of the race having moved up 10 places after a disappointing qualifying session placed him 23rd on the grid.
At the front, Quartararo built a lead of over six seconds over Zarco, which ensured his claimed the chequered flag without any hassle. Zarco was embroiled in a battle with Aleix towards the end stages but defended his position to take P2 while the Aprilia rider claimed P3. Rins eventually finished at P4 in a brilliant run and equals Quartararo on the points table for the championship.
Coming in fifth is Oliveira of KTM, ahead of Marc Marquez who was embroiled in a battle with teammate Pol Espargaro to take P6. Up next, Alex Marquez claimed P7 on the LCR Honda, while Francesco Bagnaia on the Ducati claimed P8. Rounding off the top 10 was Pol Espargaro and Maverick Vinales on the Aprilia.
Andrea Dovizioso finished at P11 ahead of Luca Marini VR46 Ducati, Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli and Tech 3 KTM rookie Remy Gardner. Marco Bezzecchi on the VR46 bike took the final point in the race. Takaaki Nakagami took P16 ahead of RNF rookie Darryn Binder. As for DNFs, Aprilia rider Lorenzo Savadori, Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio and Pramac rider Jorge Martin crashed out of contention.
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