Alex Marquez fended off a late charge from Pedro Acosta to seal his second MotoGP Sprint race victory of the season in Portimao.
The Spaniard qualified in third but claimed the maximum points on the Saturday as he, Acosta and Marco Bezzecchi battled away.
Pole man Bezzeccchi took the holeshot into the downhill Turn 1, followed by KTM rider Acosta and vice champion Marquez.
Both Bezzecchi and Acosta cleared off to form a 0.5s advantage by the end of the opening lap, with Marquez equidistant between the KTM rider and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.
No overtakes occurred at the front during the first two laps, but Acosta moved into the lead for the first time at Turn 1 downhill.
Bezzecchi had a minor wobble in the first sector on Lap 3, allowing Marquez to enter the race winning picture.
The Gresini rider executed an impressive move in the final sector, gaining multiple tenths of a second and carrying the momentum onto the corner exit to overtake Bezzecchi at Turn 1 on Lap 4.
Elsewhere, WorldSBK rider Nicolo Bulega, standing in for Marc Marquez, crashed out. Later in the same lap, the Honda duo of Joan Mir and Sokiat Chantra retired from the race, although neither suffered a crash.
At half race distance, Marquez took the lead for the first time on the main straight, as he and fellow countryman Acosta battled fiercely throughout the lap.
Acosta regained the lead with a cheeky divebomb, showcasing that he could still compete despite the Ducati carrying strong momentum through the final sector.
Marquez once again passed on the straight, but Acosta responded aggressively, forcing his way back ahead. It was clear that KTM’s weakness in the final sector could prove decisive in the laps to come.
The Gresini rider retook the lead once more on Lap 9 into Turn 1, but he fended off Acosta throughout the lap, extending his lead to multiple tenths of a second for the first time.
Marquez shot off into the distance to take the Sprint victory, but won by only 0.1s after a late charge from Acosta.
Acosta’s second-place finish matches his best result of the season as he closes in on a maiden MotoGP win.
Bezzecchi secured another podium for Aprilia, finishing just over half a second behind winner Marquez.
Quartararo sealed an impressive fourth on the Yamaha, closely followed by Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Fermin Aldeguer and Johann Zarco outdragged Francesco Bagnaia to take sixth and seventh place at the final hurdle, respectively.
Bagnaia’s eighth place was the maximum the two-time champion could muster, finishing ahead of KTM duo Brad Binder and Pol Espargaro.
Ai Ogura took 11th place for Trackhouse, ahead of Honda’s Luca Marini and Tech3 KTM rider Enea Bastianini.
Jack Miller finished in 14th for Pramac Yamaha after fending off VR46 Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli and team-mate Miguel Oliveira.
Alex Rins and Lorenzo Savadori closed out proceedings, finishing 17th and 18th, respectively.
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