MotoGP: Jorge Martin dominates for Portuguese Grand Prix win as Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez crash out

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) took the race win and the championship lead in the Portuguese Grand Prix with a masterclass in race management. The Ducati rider claimed the holeshot at lights out and never let go of the position, securing it with a breakaway at the midway point of the race.

There was late drama when defending champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) collided in the fight for fifth with two laps to go and both went down in the gravel, shortly followed by Sprint winner Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) crashing out of second place.

Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) inherited the runner-up spot with rookie sensation Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) claiming a maiden MotoGP podium in third after another remarkable race.

"Today, I didn't have any issues with the bike," Martin said in parc ferme. "I was feeling really good with the medium tyre already on Friday and today I knew what I was capable of.

"I started fast straight away, I wanted to take the lead. And then I was trying to be good with the tyres, to manage a bit the rear. And then, step-by-step, I saw that even when I was improving the lap times, Maverick and Enea were super close. At some point of the race I saw a small gap and tried my best. I did a seven, eight tenths gap and that was enough to fight for the win.

"I was putting the hammer out there, trying to improve lap by lap. Finally, it's a big relief after last season to win again because I feel I am competitive and I can do it again."

Martin stole the holeshot from pole sitter Bastianini at lights out and looked to be making an early breakaway. However, he was swiftly reeled back in by Vinales, closely followed by Bastianini, Bagnaia and Marquez.

Behind, Acosta was on the move early on and dispatched of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo of Jack Miller and Brad Binder to catch the leading group. The rookie set the fastest lap on Lap 7 and followed it up with an excellent overtake on Marquez down the inside at Turn 1 to claim fifth.

The pack of six split into two groups of three 10 laps into the race with Bagnaia not able to match the pace of the riders ahead of him.

Halfway through the race, pack leader Martin saw a chance to break and created a one-second advantage over the course of one and a half laps. Vinales kept him honest, but Martin looked in control from there and maintained the gap comfortably.

Behind, Bagnaia was under ever-increasing pressure from Acosta. The KTM rider finally made a move stick on Lap 21, diving down the inside at Turn 3 and stopping an attack on the cut-back. Acosta swiftly started to put space between himself and the factory Ducati.

Matters got worse for Bagnaia who dropped right into the clutches of Marquez. Their duel culminated on Lap 23 when Marquez dove down the inside at Turn 4 to overtake and when Bagnaia sought to retaliate on the cut-back at Turn 5, the pair made contact and both went down in the gravel.

While Martin had P1 covered out front, the fight for second was wide open with Bastianini finding excellent late race pace to challenge Vinales.

However, their fight came to a curious end when Vinales rapidly dropped speed coming down the start/finish straight going into the final lap. The Aprilia rider ran wide at Turn 1 and crashed out on the dusty part of the track.

Bastianini brought home the runner-up position unchallenged as a result. "I'm really happy with the race, especially after last year here with the big crash it's important to be back on the podium now," he said. "Incredible sensation.

"At the start I was a little bit nervous, I committed some mistakes during the first laps, but afterwards it's been a really beautiful race. The pace of Jorge was really fast. Every time I was a little bit more close, he pushed a little bit more. Maverick was also really fast, but then I don't know what happened on the straight.

"It's another podium, it's a good second place for the moment. I can be happy."

Acosta too was promoted one position courtesy of the Vinales incident and secured his first MotoGP podium finish. "The team did amazing work, the bike was perfect all race," the rookie said.

"We need to improve in many areas; we need to improve in the qualifying, also in the Sprint races. But we have the first podium - today it's not red Ducati, today it's red GASGAS. We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we have the first [podium]."

Binder had a quiet race to fourth ahead of his team-mate Miller in a similarly lonely fifth place, completing a great points haul overall for KTM.

Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was sixth from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) who came back from 13th on the grid to bag some points for Aprilia.

Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) finished ninth at his home Grand Prix ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) who beat Augusto Fernandes (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) to the final top 10 spot by less than a tenth of a second.

It's hard not to be in awe of the rookie's performances so far this season and today was another exhibit of Acosta's remarkable talent.

Besides strong race pace, Acosta impressed with excellent overtakes on Marquez and Bagnaia to make his way up the order. Crucially, while the Spaniard had suffered from perhaps a bit of tyre mismanagement in Qatar that caused heavy degradation and cost him late in the race, his management today was spot-on.

Acosta's talent is beyond question and he is also showing a steep learning curve. One can't help feeling that it's been the first of many podiums for him.

1/25: MARTIN TAKES HOLESHOT AT LIGHTS OUT - Blistering start from Martin who steals the holeshot into Turn 1, followed by Bastianini.

8/25: FASTEST LAP ACOSTA. MOVES INTO FIFTH - Unreal from Acosta who sets the fastest lap and immediately overtakes M Marquez going into Turn 1 for fifth.

10/25: TRIOS AT THE FRONT - The situation remains unchanged at the front with Martin leading Vinales and Bastianini in the front group, no one looking inclined to make a move there at the moment. However, in the chasing group Acosta looks to be lining up a move on Bagnaia while M Marquez is now the fastest rider on track.

14/25: BREAK COMES OFF FOR MARTIN - Martin was trying to escape and he looks to have succeeded as the gap to Vinales keeps growing and is now up to a second.

21/25: ACOSTA CLAIMS BAGNAIA FOR FOURTH - Diving down the inside at Turn 3, Acosta gets past Bagnaia. The defending champion tries to reclaim the position on the cut-back, but Acosta has got it covered. He swiftly dispatches of Bagnaia.

23/25: BAGNAIA AND MARQUEZ DOWN - M Marquez goes down the inside to overtake Bagnaia at Turn 4 and when Bagnaia seeks to retaliate on the cut-back, the pair make contact and both go down.

25/25: VINALES OUT - There's some type of issue for Vinales on start/finish as he drops pace quickly. He then runs wide and crashes out at Turn 1; very curious incident.

25/25: MARTIN WINS IN PORTUGAL - Martin takes the win and the championship lead in a race management masterclass. Bastianini comes home in second while Acosta inherits the final podium spot.

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