Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) in front of Miguel Oliveira and Iker Lecuona (both KTM) – the man in the middle had his ultimate moment on his home track last year. While his victory on the second weekend in Spielberg was a lucky result because Pol and Miller had obstructed each other in the target curve, there was nothing to complain about with his triumph in Portimão.

The Repsol Honda rider and his mammoth task in the comeback

His words are still well remembered when he announced “I will come back stronger than ever” after he did not play the second race in Jerez last year. He toiled like a berserk to prepare for his return. The upper arm, which was broken almost 9 months ago, now seems to have healed sufficiently for the coming exertions. But what about the psyche of the 6-time MotoGP world champion? His physiotherapist tried to take some pressure off him before he hit the track in Portugal. Carlos Garcia reported on social media that he didn’t have to prove anything. But for someone like Marc Marquez this is completely pointless and useless. Especially in light of what he said last summer. Now everyone is waiting for the proof.

The moment that changed everything for Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) – on July 19, 2020, the motorsport fans caught their breath when the “Master of Saves” flew off his predecessor “Quick Mick” Doohan into the gravel trap in the curve of fate of all things.

The only small advantage of Marquez

We are one of the few who never believed in a comeback of the number 93 in Losail and who did so in front of almost everyone else. Rather, it was clear to us early on that Jerez would be ideal for this. But that would mean he would lose his doctors another race after the release, which was earlier than expected. On the other hand, he has never ridden the MotoGP Honda at the Autodromo do Algarve. Like the rookies, he will only get 45 minutes in each of the three free practice sessions to get involved in the difficult course. But there is one small advantage for Marc Marquez, namely the fact that Losail was pretty useless for the rest of the season in terms of tests and race kilometers there. As we recently stated in the preliminary report, a completely different world awaits the drivers and teams in Portugel and the other races in Europe.

Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) – the world championship leader is suddenly on everyone’s lips and in his form he doesn’t need to fear an opponent. His predecessor at Pramac Racing Jack Miller finished second in Portimão last year and the Frenchman himself was in the top ten on last year’s Ducati.

Who are the favorites at the Autodromo do Algarve

If you believe Marquez’s sayings from July 2020, he is definitely one of them. But there are a lot of facts and his training deficit on the MotoGP Honda speak against it. After all, his substitute driver Bradl and newcomer Pol Espargaró crossed the finish line twice in Losail. Marc’s brother Alex, on the other hand, crashed in both races and his LCR Honda teammate Takaaki Nagagami had a crash in the first and clearly missed the points in the second with P17. Despite P4 from Pol in Portugal last year, you hardly have to look for the real favorites at Honda. In addition to Marc Marquez, who is difficult to assess, one should not forget that his new team-mate was fourth in 2020.

Pol Espargaró on the KTM – besides Miguel Oliveira, the only one of the oranges who achieved a good result in Portugal last year. How well he can find his way around on the Honda is completely open to him for the next races.

The forecast for the coming weekend – ideal conditions for Yamaha
While the weather forecast looks much better compared to 1 to 2 days ago, it could even stay dry and the thermometer could rise to over 20 degrees Celsius. This means that Yamaha, with Morbidelli, Quartararo and Viñales, are automatically one of the top favorites. Despite the modest results of the latter two, the same goes for the Suzuki drivers, although they too had problems last year. Together with Oliveira, Miller, Bagnaia and Zarco as another quartet, we are therefore with 9 main candidates for victory or podium. We will know on Friday evening whether this assessment is correct and whether Pol and Marquez will be one of them. Most experts are convinced that Portimão will become a yardstick for future European races.

Our 2019 photo of the Autodromo do Algarve with the imposing main grandstand in the background. In the center of the picture is the first bend after the almost one kilometer long start-finish straight. As on the second Losail weekend, spectators will not be allowed, which is not surprising given the pandemic.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) – for him, too, the start of Europe will be a determining factor. The fact that a Frenchman is going into the race with him behind a fellow countryman in Portugal as second in the premier class is an absolute novelty in history. The young man from Nice is looking forward to Marquez’s return, and he would like to beat him in a duel, like many of his colleagues.

The current state of the world championship

The schedule of the first European race for the Portuguese GP

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© MotoGP).