Reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia secured an impressive win at the first-ever MotoGP sprint during the season-opening Portuguese Grand Prix on Saturday. The victory earned Bagnaia 12 points and propelled him to the top of the rider’s standings ahead of the race on Sunday.
Introduced this season as a way to make the sport more exciting, sprints are held a day before the race and cover approximately 50% of the full distance. The sprint at Portimao consisted of 12 laps around the circuit.
In qualifying, Marc Marquez had surprised the field by taking pole position with the help of a slipstream. However, his Honda was no match for the Ducatis, which held the advantage in straight-line speed. Bagnaia took the lead in the opening lap, with Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin quickly overtaking him.
Marquez struggled to keep pace with his rivals, and eventually dropped to fifth after Martin, Jack Miller, and Miguel Oliveira passed him. But in the final laps, Marquez executed a risky double overtake on Oliveira and Miller to finish third.
On the last lap, Martin appeared to be on his way to victory, but he went wide on a turn, allowing Bagnaia to take advantage and claim the win. Meanwhile, former champions Fabio Quartararo and Joan Mir collided, causing Mir to crash and Quartararo to lose several positions before finishing in 10th place.
The MotoGP sprint has proven to be a thrilling addition to the sport, with Bagnaia emerging as the first-ever winner.
