MotoGP launches with a barnstormer in Portugal

MotoGP the oldest FIM world championship series, with 75 series completed, for 2023 they embarked on a radical shift to mark the milestone with the introduction of ‘Sprints’. The Grande Premio TISSOT de Portugal launched the longest ever campaign on record with 21 Grands Prix and did so in front of a bumper crowd at the swooping Algarve International Circuit, bathed by spring sunshine. 

Keeping it Italian

For more than a decade the #1 has been absent from MotoGP but the emphatic triumph by Francesco Bagnaia with the factory Ducati Lenovo Desmosedici brought the number back with aplomb for 2023. Bagnaia gunned the GP’s most advanced, powerful, stylish and snarling motorcycle through pre-season tests at a furious pace and was undisputed with his billing as 2023 favourite. 

The first bragging rights duly went to the 25-year-old from Turin. Bagnaia weathered the exciting and intense first laps for MotoGP’s inaugural Sprint on Saturday afternoon, to pull up to the new grid podium structure and pick-up 12 world championship points, and the gold medal, as the very first Sprint King, reinforcing his top dog status. 
 

“It was strange to have a race today,” he said of Saturday’s altered schedule. “Everyone was a bit tense in the straight before the start. If [the fans thought] it was amazing, I’m happy, because it was the objective. For the riders for sure it’s quite demanding, but fun.”

Sunday delivered another statement. Bagnaia duelled with Maverick Viñales but then pulled out a comfortable gap and went 1-1 for the ideal opener. “The race time was so much faster than last year but everything worked perfectly,” he beamed. “I’m happy. This new bike fits my riding style better than the old one. We are going very much in the right direction.” 

VR46 Academy-mate, and Ducati brandmate Marco Bezzecchi gave Italy a double podium presence on Sunday. The Mooney VR46 racer was a distant but safe 3rd for this second career trophy in just his second term in the MotoGP division. “Honestly here I was not expecting this because I have never been that fast here in any class: last year I was very slow!” ‘Bezz’ said. “The race was fantastic and passing Jack Miller was key to the podium because I could keep my rhythm and escape the group behind me.” 
 

It’s not all about the length

MotoGP’s debut taste of the Sprint concept (a 12-lap rush after Saturday qualification with championship points from 1st to 9th positions) was an entertainment spectacle. Seven riders circulated within one second as the contest featured some outrageous passes, collisions, frantic action and generally represented a fresh era of ‘double for your buck’ MotoGP fare.

The new schedule meant some heavy-lifting for the teams and riders that had to weather the intensity of Q1 and Q2 in the morning to sort the grid positions and then put on their ‘game face’ 24 hours earlier than usual. The Sprint was like tossing a juicy bone into a pit of primed raging dogs, and there was inevitably a tear-up. Luca Marini’s contact with Enea Bastianini meant that Bagnaia’s teammate went flying onto the tarmac and suffered a broken shoulder blade. 2021 world champ Fabio Quartararo was tagged by Joan Mir and was lucky not to fall, eventually recovering to 10th.

“There will be a big accident. I mean, it’s a jungle,” he breathed. “We are on a bike that sometimes reacts in a way that you can't control.”

The action was gripping and bite-sized gold but the riders were split on the Sprints value and the possible rate of attrition. The main goal, after all, is Sunday’s Grand Prix. “For sure the battle is more intense, because every rider is with new tyres, with new soft tyres and with less laps can push more,” said Bagnaia. “You have to give a lot of strength to be in front. You have to take some risks, you have to be aggressive. It’s like this. You have to be prepared.” 

The fans certainly were. Roll on another 20 Sprints this year.

All things equal?

Despite Bagnaia’s speed and Ducati’s omnipresence – there are eight Desmosedicis on the 22-place grid – MotoGP still feels perfectly balanced. The talent of Quartararo, the added experience of Mooney VR46 duo Marini and Bezzecchi, the poise of Alex Rins: there is plenty of firepower in this pack as the series fast-tracks to Argentina and then to the sprawl of COTA in Texas next month.

Portugal gave Bagnaia the upper hand – his prowess in testing guaranteed a vein of superiority – but that margin could be much slimmer or even non-existent around the curves of Termas de Rio Hondo in South America. Pecco already had the ‘weight’ of the #1 and the Algarve results sheets has opened the tap for drips of pressure and expectation, but the Champ insisted he didn’t tackle round one from a position of power. “I was not thinking about this,” he admitted. “I am sure the challenge this year will be very hard but it’s important that we keep our feet on the ground and work to be competitive throughout every and all weekends; like we did here.”

Quartararo was 8th on Sunday but eight seconds adrift after a tough race start. The Monster Energy Yamaha M1 has a faster engine for 2023 but the Frenchman will need to be at the front of the pack – earlier – to make a mess of the Ducati red. 

MotoGP had a curious first taste of the new status quo. Four riders ended up in the medical centre; which showed some of the demands that lay in store through a long season ahead. “I think we will adapt to the new schedule in Argentina,” Bagania revealed. “Here we had the pre-season test, so we had time to prepare everything, to prepare the first session, the second session, the time attack. Everything was in the direction for the race already thanks to the test. In Argentina it will be more difficult…”

Will Bagnaia continue to rule? There will be 21 other high-speed racers that hope otherwise. Tune in all season long, highlights over at @monsterenergy