Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo) – after P2 in the previous year and starting position 4, the Australian must definitely be included in the race on Sunday. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him further ahead at the first corner. After two ninth places at the season opener, “Jack Ass” has a lot to make up for, and hopefully he doesn’t overdo it.

Our live blog from the Portugal GP – the day of the race

Marc Marquez on Thursday evening: “I will definitely not be old Marc when I drive my Honda again tomorrow for the first time in 9 months. The point now is to get a good feeling first and to find trust again. It really is the case that my Honda colleagues, including my brother, had some problems, especially with trust in the Honda front. I have already discussed with the team what is new on the bike. Many things are of course not due to the corona-related development stop, but there were still some improvements this season.”

Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) is an absolute devil of a fellow – in Q2 he still fell in the first 5 minutes and then went to the front row within the available quarter of an hour. In this condition, the World Championship leader from Cannes is one of the favorites on Sunday.
The starting line-up for the MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal – Pecco Bagnaia and Maverick Viñales would actually have been way up front. While the Italian “disregarded” the yellow flags according to the regulations, the Catalans allegedly exceeded the “track limits” three times. Not only do many fans find the latter questionable, but also various drivers, including local hero Miguel Oliveira. After a crash in Q2, to the chagrin of his compatriots, this is only in the 4th row.

Strange warm-up for the Portuguese Grand Prix
After Moto3, it was MotoGP’s turn and there were plenty of strange observations. We saw Jack Miller’s Ducati smoking in the pits. Plus a Marc Marquez, who stayed in the pits until six and a half minutes before the end of the warm-up. Hardly anyone understands why someone who does not trust himself to long stints wants to take part in the race. See also our previous article on this page under the title “A bad Role Model”. That Fabio Quartararo was fastest was not surprising, as did Aleix and Morbido in the other places. However, there are no points in the warm-up training, which is why the times driven are of subordinate relevance.

Jack Miller’s Ducati smoking in front of the pits – Johann Zarco caught it on Saturday and the temperatures in Portugal can hardly be the cause. The heat in Qatar was extreme, while at the Autodromo do Algarve there are currently pleasant conditions at just over 20 degrees Celsius.

After the MotoGP warm-up – concerns about Marquez and the risk he poses
Before we forget to mention this, which some in the paddock had already called the “Marquez Theater” yesterday, another act took place on Sunday morning. He drove the third-worst time with P19, which makes you wonder what those two flying laps are supposed to have done, while the majority of his competitors did around 10 of them. But no one doubts that this is just for show and that he will attack with a knife between his teeth during the race in the afternoon. The only question that remains is how long. Since some bends are driven blindly in Portimão, a driver can no longer evade when the vehicle is on a full lean angle, something is on the road. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen! However, the fact that the racing doctors did not refuse to allow someone to start who said publicly that he could not even imagine driving to the end is very strange.

On Sunday, the six-time MotoGP world champion will start the race from 6th place on the grid, although he had concerns on Saturday whether he could hold out over the full distance. His faxing and shaking exercises with his problem right arm during Q2 seemed quite questionable to some viewers.

The Moto3 race

The warm-up lap is over and the Moto3 race has started. Alcoba was only allowed to start out of the pit lane with a 5-second delay and his “beating colleague” McPhee even had to wait 10 seconds before he could start the race. As usual in Moto3, the leading group is huge and right at the front there are both Leopard Racing pilots. To name the man at the top is of course pointless here because this position is constantly being filled. After the first 11 rides, a small gap opened up, which reduced the lead group. At Turn 3, Xavi Artigas just fell because Gabriel Rodrigo had touched his rear wheel while there were still 18 laps to go.
John McPhee’s race to catch up
The Scot is currently a good 6.5 seconds behind, but it is highly conceivable that he will still be able to catch up with the ones ahead. Artigas is now in the pits, as in the first two races of the McPhee season, he was absolutely innocent of his crash. Izan Guevara and Kaito Toba have just crashed together, there are still 14 laps to go. As it looked in the recording, Toba had miscalculated and also pulled the Spaniard out of the race in his crash. With 12 laps to go, the leading group is 1.5 seconds ahead of Jason Dupasquier as the first pursuer. As it looks in the middle of the race, the punished drivers, which include Alcoba and McPhee as well as Binder and Öncü, hardly have a chance of top positions.
The second half of the race
While the drivers at the top take turns, there are still 11 drivers who make up the leading group. Six laps are still to be driven when Adrian Fernandez is lying in the gravel trap at Turn 3. Tatsuki Suzuki also retired involuntarily from the race one lap before. The gap between the leading group and the pursuers increased to 2 seconds. Due to the retirement of Sterilgarda Max Racing driver Fernandez, the pursuers are fighting for 10th place, while the third from last lap is in progress for the lead.
The showdown in the last lap
Dennis Foggia goes into the last lap as the leader and none of the opponents can overtake him on the long straight from the slipstream. Masia falls, which means that the winner of the season opener is out of the race. It is Acosta who turns onto the long straight before Foggia and, despite a violent slide, is the first to cross the finish line. Pole setter Migno was third ahead of Sasaki and Rodrigo. Jason Dupasquier was very good 12th, while Max Kofler did not make it into the points. The Austrian was even referred to P21 by Darryn Binder as one of the punished scapegoats. Like McPhee, however, he did not get any points. The other two scapegoats Alcoba and Öncü, on the other hand, shared the last points with places 14 and 15. Below is the result of the 3rd race of the season.

The podium of the Moto3 Grand Prix of Portugal with second Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing), winner Pedro Acostar (Red Bull Ajo) and pole setter Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) in third place.

The MotoGP race

The warm-up lap went off without incident and the season started with a completely different omen compared to Qatar, which has been expected for two weeks. Zarco took the lead even though Quartararo had the best start. As expected, Marquez is pure like a madman, but the Suzukis fight back as best they can. After the first lap, Marc hits Rins’ rear wheel and almost falls, causing him to lose a few places. After 2 laps, Zarco is still in the lead and the two Suzukis, as well as Quartararo with Miller are the first pursuers. One lap later Quartararo grabs Joan Mir and Marquez has already fallen back to P9. Another 21 laps and Miller went a bit far in Turn 1, which meant Aleix Espargaró passed the Australian. Pol Espargaró pitted his Honda and gave up. Jack Miller crashes a little later, as if we hadn’t said it the day before, he shouldn’t be overly motivated to work! A little later, last year’s winner Miguel Oliveira is also lying in the gravel.
The old master on the advance?
Valentino Rossi is already in P12 and that is not only due to the drivers who fell in front of him. On arch-rival Marquez, the Italian is only 3 places missing. Zarco and Quartararo are currently fighting for the lead against the two Suzuki drivers. With 17 laps left, Quartararo leads ahead of Rins, Mir, Zarco and a little back Morbido. Miller is meanwhile sitting in his box, shaking his head. First pursuer of the top 5 drivers is surprisingly Brad Binder, who got off to a sensational start. But from behind there is danger from Pecco Bagnaia, which has meanwhile passed Aleix again. Marc Marquez’s first pursuer is his own brother Alex, ahead of Luca Marini and Valentino Rossi. However, these 3 are a good 2 seconds behind the only remaining Repsol Honda driver.
Two small top groups at the halftime of the race
Quartararo and Rins are almost 2 seconds ahead of Zarco and Joan Mir as pursuers, who have Morbido and now, as expected, Pecco on their backs. Unfortunately, Valentino Rossi also fell behind his half-brother Luca Marini. Morbido received a track limit warning while on P5 and is overtaken shortly afterwards on the Bagnaia straight. Before that, Zarco had a slight lead over Joan Mir. Marini made a mistake and fell behind Nakagami and Bastianini, making the latter currently the best rookie. When braking into the “VIP Tower” at Turn 5, Alex Rins fell, so that three drivers behind Quartararo are now fighting for the podium. Zarco now has Bagnaia and Mir on his neck. Quartararo was already more than 4 seconds ahead when Zarco fell too. Marc Marquez, described by some in the paddock as a theater actor, is now on P7 due to the falls in front of him. There is no trace of an alleged handicap, apparently everything was just tactical comments the day before.
The final laps – Quartararo alone in the lead
Bagnaia, Joan Mir and Pecco fight bitterly for the two podium places behind the outstanding Yamaha rider. Fabio’s Monster Energy Yamaha team-mate Maverick is in a disappointing 11th place. Unfortunately, he confirms his critics again, because he simply lacks consistency over several races. The race is over and with Fabio Quartararo has a deserved winner and new world championship leader! Below the result of the dramatic 3rd World Championship run of the season.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) the deserved winner and new world championship leader during an interview after the race. His next chasers before Jerez are headed to Bagnaia, Viñales and Zarco.

The Moto2 race starts with a drama

Sam Lowes of all people was obviously trapped in the wrong place in the first corner and flew off his Kales in a high arc. For the world championship leader from England the race is over. As the recording shows, he was a little too fast on Turn 1 and skid behind Remy Gardner when braking, causing his bike to throw him off. The next failure concerns Jorge Navarro, who slips on Turn 5. After the first few laps, Marco Bezzecchi is in the lead, ahead of Gardner, Roberts and Raul Fernandez. Montella and Manzi fell at the same time and one of the bikes even burned briefly afterwards. But the drivers seem to have got away unharmed. Ai Ogura and Somkiat Chantra are the next casualties, while Marco Bezzecchi can easily pull away at the top.
Jake Dixon in the top ten
The Englishman alone has to hold up the British flag after the failure of Sam Lowes. He is currently doing well and is on P9 in front of Schrötter. Bo Bendsneyder also fell, while Bezzecchi’s pursuers were able to narrow the gap to the man in front. Remy Gardner had made a mistake that easily cost him the connection. Shortly afterwards, the Australian passed team-mate Raul Fernandez again and a three-way battle between Canet, Bezzecchi and Roberts broke out at the top. Incidentally, Tom Lüthi is only 17th and must be happy if he can still score points. Two Italians, Bulega and Vietti, fell at the same time in turn 1. Bulega had braked too hard not to drive the man in front into the rear wheel and his compatriot had no chance behind it.
The second half of the race
Dixon is still on P9. Schrötter has lost one place and is struggling to finish the race in the top ten. Now Jake Dixon got hit at Turn 8 and both Englishmen are out of the race. Cameron Beaubier is now ninth. Schrötter is tenth again, but has “Di Gia” and Dalla Porta on his back. At the front, Joe Roberts and Aron Canet have slightly separated from Bezzecchi, who is being followed by Raul Fernandez, Gardner, Augusto Fernandez and Xavi Vierge. Raul Fernandez overtook Bezzecchi and soon attacked the two leaders, while the Italian was about a second behind. With four laps to go, rookie Raul Fernandez took the lead. He immediately tries to drive away Roberts and Canet and behind the two Gardner tries to close the gap in front of him as the fourth. The rookie wins ahead of Canet, Gardner and Roberts. Below the result.

This live blog is now closed. For more, see our conclusion on the day shortly.

The schedule for the weekend for the Portuguese Grand Prix

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