Fabio Quartararo won his second race in a row when he won the Portuguese MotoGP at Portimao on Sunday (April 18), with six-time champion Marc Marquez finishing seventh in his first race after a nine-month break.
“I have full confidence,” said French Yamaha rider Quartararo, who made a strong start last season only to disappear from the competition.
The Italian Francesco Bagnaia on a Ducati came second, the Spanish world champion Joan Mir from Suzuki third.
Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha-SRT) and the South African Brad Binder (KTM) completed the top 5.
Marquez’s seventh place came on his return from three operations on his right arm, which he broke in Jerez kick off 2020.
He qualified in the second row and admitted on Saturday that he was “suffering” after such a long time outside of racing.
Quartararo’s compatriot Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac), who had led the drivers’ standings before Sunday’s race, crashed on lap 20 as he battled for the podium after leading the early stages of the race.
Quartararo was able to take over a lead of 15 points in the overall standings after three races.
Despite a bad start from pole position, Quartararo patiently climbed back up to take the lead on the ninth of the 25 laps.
He benefited from the fall of his most threatening rival, the Spaniard Alex Rins (Suzuki), on lap 19 and steadily increased his lead by 4.809 seconds.
“Now we know what we have to work on in order to feel fast. What pace. I drove easily, but I still made a gap to Paco,” said Quartararo, who will turn 22 on Tuesday.
“In two days there will be a great party for my birthday.”
Bagnaia, who started from 11th on the grid, said his goal was to “finish in the top five”.
“I passed a lot of drivers,” he said. “I am very happy to be second.”
I got his first podium of the season.
“Really difficult race,” he said. “So hot too quickly.”
The Spaniard Maverick Vinales (Yamaha), winner of the first race of the season in Qatar, was only 11th after a bad start.
The Italian Valentino Rossi, who had been struggling from the Japanese factory team since the beginning of the year and his arrival at the Yamaha satellite team SRT, also fell.
Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac), who injured his right hand and ankle in a serious fall on Saturday, missed the race and will be operated on in Barcelona.