Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia finishes in first place to solidify his place at the top of the drivers championship. After an ill advised move by Marquez which ended in Marquez crashing and wiping out Miguel Oliveira. Bagnaia did not see much threat to his lead in this victory. Pecco will walk away from the Portugal Grand Prix weekend with maximum points. A self stated “great start” to the 2023 campaign.
Marquez will be disappointed with a DNF after securing a surprise pole position in qualifying. The incident with Marquez and Oliveira is currently under review by the stewards. Marquez received a double long lap penalty for the next grand prix in Argentina. Both riders have been examined and Oliveira appears to have no broken bones or major injuries. However, after an update was received from his hometown hospital it was revealed that “further damage” was revealed. Oliveira will miss the Argentina Grand Prix. Marquez suffered a broken thumb and will likely miss the Argentina Grand Prix. Marquez will serve his double long lap penalty at Circuit of the America if he is not able to race in Argentina. Jorge Martin who was also a victim involved in the scuffle suffered a minor ankle injury and a broken toe. Martin plans to be race ready for Argentina next weekend.
Marc Marquez; Portugal Grand Prix Weekend. Photo by Luckasz Swiderek / photoPSP.com
The grand prix did not serve Fabio Quartararo well. Quartararo had another catastrophic start on the opening lap dropping from 10th to 15th on lap 1. Quartararo was able to fight through the grid, and finish 8th. This finish is no consolation for the Monster Energy Yamaha rider as he will look forward after an unsuccessful weekend seeing him only securing 8 Riders championship points; 29 points behind Bagnaia.
Rounding out the top of the table. Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales finishes the weekend with 25 points followed by Mooney VR46 Racing Team’s Marco Bezzecchi finishing in 3rd with 16 points. There were 17 different overall points scorers in the riders championship. Complete standings for the Portugal Grand Prix can be found below: