Event attracts “largest crowd ever” to Algarve race track
Spanish rider Jorge Martín (Ducati) won Sunday’s MotoGP Portuguese GP in the Algarve, the second race of the World Speedway, and jumped into the championship lead on a day when Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) finished ninth.
The Portuguese rider from Almada crossed the finish line 23.929 seconds behind the winner, with Italian Enea Bastianini (Ducati) in second place, 0.882 seconds behind, and rookie Pedro Acosta (GasGas) in third, 5.362 seconds behind.
Acosta, who is 19 years and 304 days old, became the third youngest ever to stand on the podium, behind Randy Mamola (19 years and 261 days old at the 1979 Finnish GP) and Eduardo Salatino (19 years and 274 days old at the 1962 Argentine GP).
Starting from third position, Jorge Martín jumped into the lead right from the start and didn’t allow the competition any more chances.
Miguel Oliveira also got off to a good start. Starting from 15th position, he was 11th on the first lap, rising to 10th shortly afterwards. The Portuguese rider from the Trackhouse team reached ninth place with six laps to go after overtaking Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha).
However, Oliveira was pushed off the track by Italian Marco Bezzechi (Ducati), dropping three positions to 12th.
The final part of the Algarve race was full of emotion, writes Lusa, with fights for the podium places. Coming from the back, Pedro Acosta passed Spaniard Marc Márquez (Ducati) and defending champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) after getting away from the two KTMs of Brad Binder and Jack Miller.
Marc Márquez took advantage of the pack and also tried to pass Bagnaia at turn five. The Italian responded by putting his bike on the inside and ended up touching the Spaniard’s back, ending up on the ground.
Márquez resumed the race while the champion went to the pits. (The race director opened an investigation, but the action was considered a racing incident and there will be no penalty for either of them).
On the final lap, the gearbox on the Aprilia of Maverick Viñales, who was coming in third, gave way, and the Spanish rider ended up on the ground.
As a result, Miguel Oliveira climbed back to ninth place, while Jorge Martín became the fourth different winner in Portimão after the Portuguese (2020), Francesco Bagnaia (2021 and 2023) and Fabio Quartararo (2022).
The Madrid rider, who hadn’t won since last year’s Thai GP, added his sixth career MotoGP victory.
With these results, Jorge Martín jumped to the top of the World Championship with 60 points, 18 more than South African Brad Binder (KTM), who was fourth today. Bastianini is third with 39 and Bagnaia fourth with 37.
Miguel Oliveira, meanwhile, has climbed to 14th place thanks to the seven points he picked up today. The Aprilia rider now has eight.
The next round will be the GP of the Americas, which will be held in the United States from April 12 to 14.
MotoGP attracts largest crowd ever at the Algarve race track
Paulo Pinheiro, director of the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (AIA), has said this MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix “exceeded expected attendance”, making it the biggest ever for a motorised event at the Algarve race track.
“We’re close to 200,000 people, in what can be said to be the biggest attendance ever for a MotoGP race and motorised events in the Algarve,” he told Lusa yesterday, in the year that marks the 15th anniversary of the AIA.
According to Pinheiro, the initial forecast of 180,000 people for the four days of the second round of the world motorbike speedway event was “far exceeded”, with the circuit’s capacity very close to being sold out on Sunday.
“The set of initiatives we planned have been attractive and have brought thousands of people from all over the country and abroad, which is reflected in this increase in spectators,” he said.
As well as a ‘fun zone’ set up outside the circuit to watch the race, at the end of the race, the organisation was due to raffle off a Yamaha R7 motorbike and 10 helmets with Miguel Oliveira’s signature, one per grandstand.
The draw was scheduled to take place after the end of the final race, at 3 pm, followed by “an invasion of the track” by the public who were invited to interact with the riders.
“These are exciting initiatives that I think have attracted people,” Pinheiro emphasised.
For its part, a source from the National Republican Guard (GNR) told Lusa that traffic on the A22 (Via do Infante), in the Faro/Lagos direction was proceeding normally, “but with slowdowns on accesses to the autodrome”.
Today saw the closure of the section of the A22 between the Alvor and Mexilhoeira Grande junctions in the Faro/Lagos direction until 5pm.
And in ‘outlying areas’, there was a marked increase in motorcycle traffic all through the weekend, with the throaty sound of powerful engines carried in the air.
Source material: LUSA
