MotoGP: Maverick Vinales wins thrilling sprint race in Portugal after Francesco Bagnaia falters late on

Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) stayed cool, calm, and collected to bag his first victory with Aprilia in the Portuguese Grand Prix Sprint and break Ducati's winning run.

The Spaniard was running second for the better part of the race and capitalised when pack leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) went wide at Turn 1 with three laps to go.

"Today feels good, I'm happy to be back on the top positions," Vinales said in parc ferme. "I know Qatar wasn't our level, I had some issues with the setting. But here, we are showing that we are finding the way.

"I'm happy about how things are going and very concentrated on tomorrow, but we will enjoy today. It's my first win with Aprilia, so we'll enjoy it, of course."

Pole sitter Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a poor getaway at lights out and Vinales took the holeshot into Turn 1 from second on the grid. However, Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had the best start of the lot and claimed the lead through the opening turns, Bagnaia also coming through into runner-up.

Bagnaia saw a gap at Turn 15 on the second lap and made it count to take the race lead off Miller and swiftly pulled away from the KTM. Unwilling to let the championship leader escape, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) too made his way past Miller and went to hunt down Bagnaia.

Miller was lacking pace and also had to surrender to Vinales, but disaster truly struck for his teammate Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) on Lap 4 when he crashed out at Turn 13.

Marquez was reeling in Bagnaia, but a massive moment on Lap 5 almost took him out of the race. The Ducati rider just about managed to keep it on the tarmac but fell behind Vinales into third and with some momentum gone, he swiftly also had to let Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) pass who barged his way through with an aggressive move.

Bagnaia created a gap of just under one second at the front and looked comfortable until Lap 9 when his Ducati snapped sideways at Turn 1 and he ran well wide. He dropped into fourth with Vinales inheriting the lead.

Martin stalked Vinales, but the Aprilia rider defended confidently and never allowed his Ducati opponent a real chance to attack. Finally, Martin was in too hot on the penultimate lap and ran slightly wide.

Vinales won some breathing of around six tenths going into the final lap and managed it well to bring the win home. Martin though had fallen right into the clutches of Marquez.

Retaliating on Martin's aggressive move six laps prior, Marquez dove down the inside at Turn 5 to go past. Now up in second, Marquez defended the position and secured his first podium with Ducati.

"After the qualifying practice, we knew it would be difficult because starting in eighth position is super difficult and the race tomorrow will be even more difficult," Marquez said post-race. "I made a mistake in the qualifying practice that I [could have avoided] because I engaged the rear device too early and then the bike was sitting and I crashed.

"But the team did a really great job to repair the bike and in the race I was super lucky on the first lap to have a good start. And then I worked the front tyre, I relaxed a bit, and then I came back on the last lap to attack. Tomorrow with the medium rear will be different."

Sprint king Martin meanwhile had to settle for third. "It was a difficult race," he admitted. "I started really poorly and then I was trying to be competitive, but I had some issues with the rear ... also the front went super, super high. But I did my best and hopefully we can improve for tomorrow."

Bagnaia finished fourth to just hang on to the championship lead by two points over Martin. Miller came home fifth from Bastianini while rookie sensation Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3) had another remarkable run in seventh.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) came back from 13th on the grid to make it a double points finish for Aprilia while Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) secured the final point on offer in ninth.

Winning a race is one thing, but winning a race when struck down with gastroenteritis is another and that's just what Vinales did.

The Spaniard surely wasn't at his best physically, but he was at his best out on track and stayed composed when others made mistakes to secure his first win with Aprilia.

With rumours making the rounds that Vinales' ride with the Italian factory could be under threat, it was a crucial time for him to show his capabilities.

1/12: VINALES TAKES HOLESHOT AT LIGHTS OUT, MILLER SOON LEADS - Bastianini has a horrible start from pole and Vinales steals the holeshot into Turn 1. Miller had the best getaway though and takes the lead with Bagnaia following in second.

2/12: BAGNAIA TAKES THE LEAD - Going into T15, Bagnaia sees a gap and goes for it. Going onto start/finish from there, he has the Ducati horsepower advantage and pulls away from Miller.

5/13: MASSIVE MOMENT FOR MARQUEZ - That could have been it for M Marquez, but he just about manages to keep his Ducati on the tarmac. He does drop behind Vinales though. That creates some welcome breathing space for Bagnaia who had M Marquez catching him.

6/12: MARTIN INTO THIRD - Martin barges his way past M Marquez into third. Vinales is around half a second ahead.

9/12: BAGNAIA OFF TRACK - Bagnaia's Ducati snaps sideways at Turn 1 and he goes well wide. He drops down into fourth and Vinales inherits the lead.

11/12: TOO HOT FROM MARTIN - Martin is in a bit too hot and runs slightly wide. That drops him into the clutches of M Marquez.

12/12: MARQUEZ INTO SECOND - M Marquez retaliates on Martin with an aggressive barge down the inside at Turn 5 to go past.

12/12: VINALES WINS SPRINT IN PORTUGAL - Vinales brings P1 home and wins the Sprint in Portimao. M Marquez defends second from Martin.

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