The one from Cervera goes to the ground after a touch with Jorge Martín and takes Oliveira ahead
MADRID, 26 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) has consolidated his MotoGP leadership after winning the Portuguese Grand Prix this Sunday, the first round of the motorcycling World Championship marked by the accident that left the Spanish Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) out of the race, while that Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) and the Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati) have completed the podium.
‘Pecco’ confirmed his dominance over the weekend in Portimao, where on Saturday he was proclaimed the winner of the first sprint race in MotoGP history, and already has 37 points overall -25 in the long race and 12 in the short -, 12 more than Viñales.
The one from Roses, second this Sunday, has become the only non-Ducati bike in the ‘Top 5’, made up of Bezzecchi -third in the championship (16)-, the Frenchman Johann Zarco and the Spanish Alex Márquez.
The test in Portimao was marked by the accident carried out by Márquez, who, when only two laps had been completed, brushed against Jorge Martín (Ducati) when he was trying to overtake him and took the Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) ahead of him, an action that the public Luso made him pay with a loud whistle when he approached the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team’s box to apologize.
As soon as the traffic lights went out, the driver from Cervera collided with Martín, who was momentarily rising as the leader of the race, and with Bagnaia, and only one lap later, to the jubilation of those present at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, the Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) managed to take the lead.
However, ‘Pecco’ wasted no time and one turn later he overtook, to put himself first, both the man from Madrid and the Portuguese, victims of the action with which Marc Márquez completely changed the script of the race.
With 23 laps to go, the Catalan tried to pass Martín on the inside, but he miscalculated the braking and after touching him he also took Oliveira ahead. Only the man from San Sebastián de los Reyes managed to continue in the race -although he would end up giving up after crashing at turn 10 with five laps to go-, and everything was leveled for the current world champion.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) and the Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati) then rose to podium positions. The man from Roses got hooked on Bagnaia, but he defended his advantage to achieve his 22nd victory in the World Championship, his twelfth in MotoGP.
Only 14 riders managed to finish the race, including Alex Márquez (Ducati), fifth; Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia), ninth ahead of Alex Rins (Honda) and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda), tenth and eleventh respectively; and Augusto Fernández (KTM), thirteenth. Márquez, Martín and Raúl Fernández (Aprilia) could not complete the appointment.