MotoGP ready to ride the Portimao rollercoaster – Preview – Schedule

2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round Two – Autódromo Internacional do Algarve
Grande Prémio Tissot de Portugal – Portimao

After the season-opener held in Qatar, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) made the first strike with a Tissot Sprint win, throwing down the gauntlet right from the off.  Francesco Bagnaia came out on top on Sunday though to leave Lusail with an early points lead in his championship defence. This weekend MotoGP returns to the Old Continent.

The second of the 21 Grands Prix on the calendar this year will be hosted by the Portuguese circuit of Portimão.  Introduced to the calendar in 2020, the track located in the south of the country in the Algarve region had seen the reigning World Champion win both the Sprint (the first ever in MotoGP history) and Sunday’s GP last year.

Situated in a very pleasant natural environment, the Portimão circuit has a length of 4.6 km with 15 turns (nine right-handers and six left), and can accommodate up to 100,000 spectators. The long straight of almost a kilometre, which passes in front of the pits, allows riders to exceed 350 km/h. The undulating nature of the circuit, and in particular the descent towards turn 1, earned it the nickname ‘high-speed roller coaster’. The level of grip is considered quite good by the riders, but the weather is always an uncertainty due to the circuit’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, and so there can be wind or showers, and there were plenty of showers on Thursday evening!

Piero Taramasso – Michelin

“This circuit is very technical, with a wide variety of corners and changes of pace, but also with impressive climbs and descents. To perform on this type of track, you need tyres that combine several key qualities such as grip, stability and consistency, and following the excellent results shown by our new compounds during testing and races, we are confident. Also, based on the analysis of the data collected here in 2023, we have selected the same types of rubber for this year. Concerning the front, we will provide our partners with three compounds – Soft, Medium and Hard – with a symmetrical tread, and two choices for the rear – Soft and Medium. Given the configuration of the circuit, the Soft tyre will, however, be asymmetrical, with the right shoulder harder than the left. We will thus be able to overcome all the constraints of this demanding circuit.”

Francesco Bagnaia

“First of all, I want to say I love this track, it is one of my favourites with a lot of up and downhill sections. It is a mix of Mugello and Sachsenring and I love to ride here. Last year was a perfect start to the season like it was in Qatar, so I am quite confident as I think with the 2024 bike we can be more competitive in some areas of the track, so I am looking forward to starting the weekend.”.

Two stunning performances from Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) at Lusail sees the KTM rider arrive in Portugal as Bagnaia’s closest challenger. The South African is second in the standings after taking second in both outings in Qatar, and he’s already beaten both Bagnaia and Martin on track.

Brad Binder

“Obviously, it went well in Qatar it was fantastic to start the season with two podiums. Coming here is really exciting for me as it where last year that we started to find our bearings and if we have a look at what we ran here last year and where we finished the season it was two worlds apart so I am really keen to go out for FP1 to see where our base is and see how everything works. This track is insane, it is so up and down and flowing in some places, and stop and go in others, and it is something that you need a different bike for. I think our bike will be strong here as Jack showed last year and I think this year we stand a chance of being even stronger.”

It was a solid first weekend for Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) in Qatar but he’ll want more, and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) likewise. On the other side of the VR46 box it’s not just more but a LOT more that will be the aim for Marco Bezzecchi after a very tough Qatar, too. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing), meanwhile, continues in his game of catch up after missing pre-season. And then there’s Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP).

Enea Bastianini

“I’m happy to be back in Portimão for the first European race of the season. It’s an exceptional track, and at the end of January, we trained here with the Panigale V4S. I have a score to settle with Portimão: I didn’t race last year because of the injury I suffered after the crash in the Sprint. The first GP of the season in Qatar went well, but honestly, I expected to achieve something more, so I’ll try to redeem myself this weekend.”

Marco Bezzecchi

“Portimao is truly one of the most beautiful tracks on the calendar. Complicated, physically demanding, but at the same time very fun. Last year I was fast here, this year we are struggling a little bit more, but I am happy with the progresses made during the race weekend in Qatar. With the whole Team we will continue to work, especially on braking. The goal is to get closer to the fastest group and have fun on this particular track.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio

“The weekend in Qatar was overall positive. We had some problems, but this didn’t stop us from being fast and competitive. We will continue to work hard with the Team here in Portimao too, a beautiful and wonderful track. A real roller coaster, very demanding also on a physical side. We have not to rush, we are doing well, we need to continue to grow, the Top5 can be a goal.”

It was a good opener for Marc Marquez under the floodlights, but there was no podium… yet. Can Portimao change that? He’s not (yet?) won at the venue, one of only four on the 2024 calendar he’s raced at and not reigned, but it’s more experience on the Ducati every time he pits out…

Marc Marquez

“Of course, the approach for the weekend is the exact same as Qatar and obviously we will have a new factor which is we will head to a circuit straight into a race weekend. This changes our planning as straight away in FP1 you need to have a lap time and be fast and that was the most difficult thing in Malaysia and Qatar, that first day I was struggling a bit so let’s see if here in Portimao I can start in the top 10 positions straight away to jump into Q2. That is the main target but let’s see where we are in a completely different race track.”

Speaking of more experience with every pit out, we arrive at Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3). Slicing up the order, setting the fastest lap, and even attacking Marc Marquez successfully was quite a debut for the rookie sensation, so now it’s time to see if he can do it again. It’s a track he knows well from every class and even before, but there’s no MotoGP test ahead of the action this time – can he keep that roll going?

Pedro Acosta

“Portimao is a circuit that I like and we have a very good feeling after Qatar. The main objective is to keep adapting to the bike and the category and try to continue with the Qatar dynamic, that is to say, to have a good Friday and a good Saturday to get to the sprint and the race as well positioned as possible on the grid. I’m looking forward to riding the MotoGP bike at this circuit.”

Sophomore team-mate Augusto Fernandez will hope experience plays into his hands here, and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will want to be taking back his own headlines as he did here last season.

Augusto Fernandez

“We are looking forward to a new race week in Portugal after a tough Qatar GP. Our objective is to continue improving our feeling with the bike, trying to find again the confidence so we can be fighting for better positions. Portimao is a circuit that I like a lot, so I’m excited for this new week ahead.”

At Aprilia, meanwhile, there’s also already plenty of success to build on. Home hero Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) is now Long Lap penalty free to put in an assault on his home track, a venue he’s already won at in some style, and where last year with Aprilia he was impressing before bad luck intervened via that infamous clash with Marquez.

Miguel Oliveira

“The Portuguese GP is the most special moment of the season for me. As a Portuguese rider, racing in my country is the highest of emotions in terms of competition. My goal is to continue to improve my feeling with the bike and, of course, show good speed and be able to compete for good positions on track.”

Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) will want to carry forward his practice pace into more once the lights go out, and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) wants a Sunday with no hurdles. Aleix looked like he could have kept attacking for another 100 laps by the end of the Sprint in Qatar but ran out of time, before Sunday was a tougher one. Can that get rewritten in Portimao?

Raul Fernandez

“I can’t wait to arrive in Portimao! After the issues we had in Qatar that have been quite frustrating for me, I want to be back on the bike. I want to show that I’m competitive and I want to enjoy riding. I think I can do a really good job in Portugal – I like the circuit. So, day by day, we need to work on improving to and definitely have a better race than we did at the first round in Qatar.”

After a challenging first round, Quartararo’s sole focus is to make steps in terms of bike and setting development. The Frenchman has good memories of riding the YZR-M1 in Portimão. The combination of El Diablo and his Yamaha have proved to be a winning formula at this circuit in 2021 and 2022.

Fabio Quartararo

“The Qatar GP was not an easy start to the season but now we know what to work on. The Portimao track is very different from the Lusail circuit, so it will be interesting to see how the bike’s handling and the tyre wear compares. With no points in the Sprint in Qatar, we are in the middle bracket of the standings, so we’ll do our best to climb up in the rankings this weekend. As always, I’m giving it my 100%, and I know the team are too, so let’s see what we can do!”

Rins showed plenty of overtaking manoeuvres in Qatar, but he found himself outside the points after his first Race on the M1 due to tyre degradation. The Spaniard is therefore extra keen to start Round 2. He is currently in 16th place in the overall classification and feels there is potential to make steps. His best MotoGP finish at Portimao is fourth place in 2022.

Alex Rins

“Even when the result wasn’t great, our race in Qatar was very useful to extract some data and learn a lot for Portimao. It’s a shame that the last 6 laps we paid the price for pushing too hard to recover positions because our tyres were finished. However, I’m happy because we were riding at a similar pace as the other Yamaha, which means that we are on the same level, and we can both work together to improve in the same way.”

Castrol Honda LCR newcomer Johann Zarco fronted the HRC charge in Qatar as the Frenchman claimed P12 ahead of Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) in the GP race. The new arrival also qualified half-a-second clear of the other Hondas in an impressive start. Two points finishes is also a fair start for the marque as they work to build back to their former form, but they’ll want a lot more from Portimao as they put in more and more test hours thanks to the new concessions – especially after a trickier weekend for Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda LCR) and Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team).

Joan Mir

“I am looking forward to getting back on the bike and continuing the job we started in Qatar. There’s a lot of work to do, but after starting well at a track that is not the best for us, I am confident that we can do more in Portugal. It’s a track that I enjoy and I think we have more potential there. Ready to work, ready to make progress and ready to have another positive weekend on the Honda RC213V.”

Luca Marini

“The best thing we can do at the moment is keep riding, so of course it’s great to be heading to Portugal and Portimao. It’s a track which is very different to where we have started the year so I am curious to see how the Honda goes there. We’re in the process of developing the bike, working with Honda, gathering information at different tracks to improve. Our objective is to find a better feeling with the bike in order to be more competitive.”

MotoGP Championship Standings

Moto2

Having gone winless in 2023, Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) kickstarted his 2024 with an immaculate victory as the Spaniard fended off Barry Baltus (RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP) in Qatar. Baltus’ debut Moto2 podium was 0.055s off being a first GP win as the duo enjoyed a phenomenal start to the season in the desert. As too did Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), with the #3 pocketing his maiden Moto2 rostrum in P3, just ahead of teammate Ai Ogura.

Meanwhile, some big names expected to fight at the front this year had a tougher start. Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) and Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) failed to get points on the board in P16 and P20, and they’ll both be craving big hauls on Sunday in Portimao to get their title hopes back on track. Meanwhile, Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) was sidelined after a crash earlier in the weekend in Qatar, and we wait to see if the Brit will be back out this time round.

Jake Dixon

“I am happy to be back home after the crash in the first Grand Prix. We are following the medical protocols and, step by step, I feel that I am feeling better. I have visited several doctors who have told me to go to Portimao, try it out and see how I feel on the bike, and from there we will reassess. My next objective is to pass the medical check-up before the Portuguese Grand Prix so I can get on the bike for the first test.”

Darryn Binder and Senna Agius want to put the Qatar Grand Prix behind them, where an unfortunate tyre punt robbed them of the chance to score points and start all over again. The 4.59 km rollercoaster track will undoubtedly be a challenge, but the 26-year-old South African and his 18-year-old Moto2 rookie Agius will not simply hope for better conditions but will work hard and fight their way into a hopefully successful qualifying session to put themselves in a perfect position to fight for their first World Championship points of the year.

In this new Pirelli era of Moto2, tyre degradation issues over race distance are a much more significant factor than they were during the previous Dunlop era. Thus, tyre strategy has become vital.

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

Last laps don’t get much better than what David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) managed to put together in a Moto3 Qatar GP thriller. The Colombian was P6 heading onto the last lap but picked his way to the front to claim 25 points ahead of Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and an excellent charge from Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) as the Japanese star bagged his second GP podium from 18th on the grid.

The likes of Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) will be hunting for better fortunes in Portimao after the duo crashed in Qatar. Rueda DNF’d, but Ortola did manage to string a phenomenal recovery rider together to earn P9.

Joel Kelso and Jacob Roulstone will be flying the Aussie flag in Moto3 after both banking good points at the Qatar season opener.

Moto3 Championship Standings

Portimao MotoGP Schedule AEDT

2024 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar (Updated)

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