Maverick Viñales (Aprilia RS-GP) has achieved his first victory with Aprilia, the third brand with which he has achieved it in the world championship (Suzuki, Yamaha and Aprilia), on an entirely Spanish podium, because after his wake in the race Sprint of the Portuguese Grand Prix was finished by Marc Márquez (Ducati Desmosedici GP23) and Jorge Martín (Ducati Desmosedici GP24).
Viñales took advantage of a mistake on the ninth lap of the leader until then, the Italian Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Desmosedici GP24), at the end of the straight, where he had to go off the track to avoid an accident when the rear wheel bounced. of his motorcycle. With Viñales leading, Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez were in his wake, but the eight-time world champion waited for his opportunity on the last lap to return the blow that the Madrid driver had given him on lap six, to get his first podium with Ducati, even if it is in the Sprint race.
Once again the start of the KTM RC 16 did not disappoint, placing the Australian Jack Miller in first position, followed by Bagnaia, Maverick Viñales, Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez, who gained two positions in the first moments after the start. Miller held the pace on the first lap of his rivals, among whom Marc Márquez gained one more position by overtaking Enea Bastianini to complete the first lap in fourth place and, one lap later, he gained another position by overtaking Viñales.
The race lost its first participant in that second lap, in which Alex Rins (Yamaha YZR M 1) crashed, while Márquez consolidated third place from the attacks of Maverick Viñales and went after Jack Miller, that he had lost the first position in favor of Bagnaia, who overtook him in turn fifteen.
Márquez now only had ahead of the world champion in title and leader in the provisional standings, who had just over six tenths of a second advantage, while behind them the Frenchman Johann Zarco (Honda RC) also went to the ground 213 V), the South African Brad Binder (KTM RC 16) and the Italian Fabio di Giannantonio (Ducati Desmosedici GP23).
The eight-time world champion began to close the gap on Bagnaia, but a mistake in turn five of the fifth lap caused him to lose some time to avoid the fall and he found himself overtaken by Maverick Viñales, with Jorge Martín close behind them.
In that action, Bagnaia had managed to increase the advantage over his pursuers up to a second, among whom Jorge Martín decided to go on the attack and overtake Marc Márquez on the sixth lap.
One lap later, in the seventh, Jorge Martín set the fastest race lap (1:38.479) to hook up with Maverick Viñales, whom he was going to try to defeat as soon as possible to get in the wake of Bagnaia, at that time comfortable leader of the short race.
But Bagnaia’s pace also made him make a mistake in turn one, in which to avoid the fall he had to leave the track and return to it in fourth place, behind Maverick Viñales, Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez .
This is how the laps passed, with three Spaniards in the leading positions, while Bagnaia threw in the towel after his mistake and remained in fourth place trying to stop all the attacks of the Australian Miller.
But the last lap still held some surprises, as Marc Márquez prepared to overtake Jorge Martín in turn five, the same one where he crashed on Friday, to get his first podium with Ducati, even if it was in the Sprint race. .
2024-03-23 16:52:41
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