Repsol Honda Team prepares for the penultimate push in Portimao. before

Pol Espargaro comes to Portugal after the best result of the season, while Marc Marquez recovers at home with Stefan Bradl in his place.

With the MotoGP World Championship coming to an end in 2021, the paddock will return to Portugal for lap 17 when the consecutive race season comes to an end. This is the fourth and last time that the paddock will visit the same track this season, the two Portuguese races are almost half a year apart.

Pol Espargaro arrives fresh from his best finish in the premier class and his first Repsol Honda Team podium with renewed confidence in the Algarve. Despite tough moments for Espargaro in 2021, he and the Repsol Honda Team have continued to work hard and improve. The previous race in Portugal was prematurely ended for the # 44 due to a technical problem, Espargaro came with unfinished tasks. A top ten finish in the world championship is also within reach, with Oliveira in tenth just two points ahead of Espargaro.

Marc Marquez will unfortunately miss the Algarve Grand Prix after suffering a minor concussion in a training accident. Before the event, the # 93 had achieved its first victories in a row since 2019.

Honda HRC test driver Stefan Bradl will return to the Repsol Honda Team in Portimao in place of Marquez, Bradl’s fifth appearance this year. All four previous appearances by Bradl on the track resulted in points with 11th place in Qatar, his best result so far. Portimao has fond memories of the German, who achieved an excellent seventh place there in 2020, his second top ten of the season and the best-placed finish of the year.