Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) as the leader of a huge top group as usual in Moto3. The 2019 winner from Japan drove a very strong race, but as in the first race, it was not enough for the podium for him.

Acosta and his masterpiece – McPhee with unbelievable bad luck

A young man who is currently still wearing braces was already considered an upcoming talent last year. We’re talking about Pedro Acosta Sanchez, the new member of the “KTM family”, which is often more reminiscent of a divided society. At least when you see how many supporting pillars with Zarco, Espargaró and Martin ran away within 2 years. Therefore, offspring is very important for the oranges and, in contrast to Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci, the young man from Murcia looks as if he will be lucky enough for the Austrians. After finishing second at the season opener, Pedro has already won his first win and is traveling back home as World Cup leader. The fact that Acosta won his first Grand Prix out of the pit lane after being punished for strolling around in qualifying was a novelty.

Strange scene with 7 drivers on the left at their start from the pit lane and the remaining three quarters on the normal starting grid. This has an aftertaste. Because from now on the Moto3 riders know that long lap penalties and such start-up punishments cannot prevent them from winning.

The innocent loser and a brief moment of lack of nerve
It was exactly the other way around for a man who had to go through some ups and downs in Moto3. The Losail double race can safely be described as the absolute lowest point of his career so far. At the first Grand Prix of the year, the Scot was cleared after two laps by Andrea Migno, who was then even able to continue. For McPhee, however, the race was over. At the second Qatar GP he was in the top group when Darryn Binder at the end of the home straight surprised Jeremy Alcoba, who was driving behind him, pulling inwards, causing him to crash. Right behind it, McPhee had no chance to evade and fell too. In a brief moment his nerves burned through, and he kicked the Spaniard’s shin, gesticulating wildly. He hit back and both will have to tackle the Portuguese GP from the pit lane as a punishment.

John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta) in front of Jason Dupasquier (CarXpert PruestelGP) – while the Scot had unbelievable bad luck, the young Swiss celebrated a 10th and eleventh place in the Losail double race.

The tops and flops of the second Grand Prix of the season

With Darryn Binder, the brother of the MotoGP rider like Acosta made it onto the podium twice, with which he is traveling to Europe as second in the World Championship. In addition to Jason Dupasquier with two sensational placements, Max Kofler also scored his first World Championship points. However, the Austrian had been incredibly lucky both times. In the first Grand Prix he owed his 15th place to the fall of the Japanese Ayumu Sasaki in the final lap. In the second race it would have been P17 if Jeremy Alcoba, John McPhee and Adrian Fernandez hadn’t crashed in the fourth from last deal. As for the flops, first and foremost a team deserves to be mentioned, which was able to cheer their drivers on the podium several times last year. As usual in Moto3, you always need a lot of luck to make it into the top three in the end. At Leopard Racing, the expensive expenses for the Losail adventure were definitely not worth it. With zero points it goes back to Europe, where two weeks after the double race in Qatar the GP of Portugal is waiting.

Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing Honda) – The starting lap did not finish in the first race and only in 17th place in the second Grand Prix in Qatar. It can only get better for last year’s World Cup tenth and his team. The Italian has at least very good memories of the Portuguese GP last year.

The expectations for the third round of the World Cup in Portugal

At the Autodromo do Algarve, the drivers expect completely different conditions. The temperature will hardly be 20 degrees Celsius initially, but luckily, according to the current forecast, in sunshine. Thus, the FP3 automatically regains its importance, which it had completely lost in Losail in all classes. There is thus again the chance to recommend yourself with strong performances for Q2 in the second free practice session, but the direct entry into Portugal will probably only be decided on Saturday morning. Almost the only thing they have in common with Losail is a very long start-finish straight. But the target curve is long, similar to Barcelona. Otherwise, the two courses differ like day and night. In the vicinity of the coastal city of Portimão, the drivers can expect a mountain and valley course with some courageous passages, where you can’t see what’s waiting for you behind a curve. Dennis Foggia in second and Jeremy Alcoba in P3 were the two best drivers who are still there last year.

Photographed by us during a visit to the Autodromo do Algarve – curve 1 in the foreground and the huge grandstand in the background. There would be plenty of space around the route for visitors, the route in the hinterland of the coastal city of Portimão is also almost perfect for walking around it. Only the pandemic thwarted a race with spectators with a probability bordering on certainty.

Result of the second Moto3 Grand Prix of the season in Qatar

The podium with Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing Honda, P2) and now second in the world championship, the winner and world championship leader Pedro Acosta (KTM Ajo) and third-placed Niccolò Antonelli (Avintia Esponsorama). The latter will travel to Portugal in fourth place behind Jaume Masia.

The intermediate result in the World Championship before the Portuguese GP

Team ranking after 2 races

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