GasGas Tech3 rider Daniel Holgado held off Ajo KTM’s Jose Antonio Rueda in a race to the finishing line in the Moto3 Portuguese race, with the pair separated by only 0.044s.
MT Helemts – MSI rider Ivan Ortola rounded off the podium places to finish third, a result he will be happy with after finishing only ninth last time around in Qatar.
Despite leading the race at various points and having built a solid lead, Qatar winner David Alonso fell back and had to settle for fourth after a difficult final few laps due to the rear tyre on his CFMoto Aspar machine being worn down.
The opening lap saw Ryusei Yamanaka and Angel Piqueras crash out together in an unfortunate collision to put an early end to their races.
From there it settled into typical Moto3 fashion with a gaggle of riders packed tight together in the fight for victory with Holgado, Rueda, Ortola and Alonso starring throughout.
Furthermore, the junior Grand Prix competitors had to settle the issue with a drag to the start/finish line and despite leading for the majority of the race, Rueda conceded ultimate honours to a jubilant Alonso.
Behind the top four finishes, fifth and sixth-placed Joel Kelso and Collin Veijer were separated by only 0.019 as both riders battled hard to get the upper-hand.
Stefano Nepa claimed seventh place and finished two seconds behind, ahead of top rookie Joel Esteban and David Muñoz.
The Leopard Racing team had a race to forget as Piqueras’ teammate Adrian Fernandez rounded off the top 10.
Holgado leads the championship heading into the next race at the Circuit of the Americans next month with a tally of 45 points, seven ahead of Alonso in second.
Ortola resides in third place with a tally of 23 points.
