-Marc Marquez finishes second
-Jorge Martin crosses the line in third
-Pecco Bagnaia makes an error to gift the win to Vinales
The MotoGP Sprint format is turning out to be quite entertaining just like cricket’s IPL or the Indian Premier League. Racing for half of Sunday’s distance with no care about tyre management, the Sprint Race at this year’s Portuguese Grand Prix left fans hooked to the seat. Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Vinales won the race but it wasn’t easy.
A clean start
As the lights went out, pole sitter Enea Bastinini who’s racing for the Factory Ducati dropped down the field as KTM’s Jack Miller swung into the lead on Lap One. The Aussie began pulling clear of the rest of the field as Bastinini’s teammate and defending Champion Pecco Bagnaia was in hot pursuit. A few laps later, Bagnaia pounced and grabbed the lead, going on to set a string of hot laps. Behind him, Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Vinales, Gresini Racing's Marc Marquez and Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin were engaged in a fight for the podium places.
A costly error
With a sizable lead, Pecco Bagnia seemed to be on his way to taking his first Sprint Race win of the year. However, with four laps to go, the Factory Ducati rider ran wide going into Turn One as he failed to slow the bike down in time. This costly error, which the Italian declared as his own doing, gifted the lead to Vinales. From then on, there was no looking back for the Aprilia rider as he ecstatically crossed the finish line in P1.
Marc Marquez is back on the podium
Eight time World Champion Marc Marquez could not contain his happiness as he crossed the line in second. After spending a disastrous last couple of years at Honda, the Spaniard showed what he’s made of after securing a podium in only his second race weekend on the Gresini Racing Ducati. Marquez looked confident during the Free Practice and qualifying sessions despite crashing.
In the Sprint Race, he battled hard with fellow Spaniard Jorge Martin and after setting some crucial lap times, chanced upon an opportunity to pass Jorge for the second spot in the closing stages of the race. The move was rather aggressive, in his typical style, diving down the inside of Martin and forcing him to sit up the bike mid corner. Martin tried his best to take the position back from Marquez but had to settle for third.
An exciting Sunday awaits
The Portuguese GP promises to be pretty exciting with KTM and Aprilia Racing expected to pose a formidable challenge to the Ducati squadron. The Race begins at 7:30pm IST.
