The Portuguese Grand Prix began with a strong start at the front of the pack. Marco Bezzecchi kept the lead into the first corner, followed by Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez. Behind them, the early laps saw a tough and aggressive fight in the mid-pack, especially between Fermin Aldeguer and Brad Binder.

At Turn 3, Aldeguer tried to pass Binder, but Binder held a firm racing line and kept the position into Turn 4. Aldeguer came again with a late move at Turn 5. This time the move was more forceful, and it pushed Binder slightly off line. The contact cost Binder a piece of rear aero, which could affect the stability of his bike for the rest of the race.

Morbidelli then crashed at Turn 5 after getting the bike unsettled on entry. He ran wide, tried to recover mid-corner, and made contact with Pol Espargaro, which caused his fall. In the same chicane Enea Bastianini also had a contact with Franco Morbidelli., which damaged his front wheel and forced him to pit and swap bikes.

Meanwhile, at the front, Bezzecchi set the pace. Marquez stayed about half a second behind him, keeping pressure but not closing fully. Acosta, who had started well, began to lose time and dropped to over a second behind Marquez.

Further back, Francesco Bagnaia, who soon after crashed, settled into fifth early on but managed to break away from Fabio Quartararo and build a gap of more than two seconds. Quartararo, for his part, soon came under threat from Zarco, Binder, and the determined Aldeguer.

By lap 8, the order at the front remained steady: Bezzecchi leading, Márquez half a second behind, and Acosta now over a second further back. Bagnaia continued to run alone, with comfort ahead of Quartararo.

On lap 12, Bezzecchi increased his lead. He was now more than one and a half seconds ahead of Marquez. Bezzecchi was also the only rider still setting lap times in the 1 minute 38 second range, showing very strong pace. Acosta in third continued to fall back and now focused on protecting his podium position from Aldeguer, who was faster and closing slightly.

Behind them, the fight for fifth became the main focus. Quartararo made a small mistake under braking at Turn 5. Brad Binder saw the gap and passed him. This was impressive from Binder, because he had earlier lost some rear aero after contact with Aldeguer, but he was still riding confidently and strongly. Quartararo did not give up. He kept riding with determination to stay close to Binder. However, as the race entered lap 14, there were still twelve laps remaining.

As the laps ticked away, Acosta looked stronger. The difference between the two riders fell to just over a second, and it was clear Márquez was working hard to stay ahead. Slow motion replays showed heavy wear on the front tyre of the Honda, which explained why he could not hold the same pace as earlier in the race.

Two laps from the end, Bezzecchi continued to control the lead comfortably, while the real tension was now in the fight for second. Marquez had only one second left over Acosta, and the young rookie was closing every sector. Meanwhile, Ogura finally completed his move on Zarco and took over seventh place.

As the race reached the penultimate lap, Bezzecchi’s lead came down slightly to three seconds, but he still looked safe at the front. Behind him, Marquez pushed as hard as he could to protect second position. Acosta was only eight tenths of a second behind as they crossed the line to begin the final lap.

As the chequered flag fell in Portimao, Marco Bezzecchi crossed the line to claim a composed and well-managed victory, controlling the race from the front with confidence and pace. Alex Marquez secured second place, defending bravely in the closing laps despite clear front-tyre wear. Pedro Acosta followed in third, choosing maturity and consistency to bring home another strong podium finish.

Just behind the podium, Fermin Aldeguer completed an assertive ride to take fourth, showing speed and determination all race long. Brad Binder finished in fifth after one of his strongest performances of the season, especially impressive given the earlier contact that affected his rear aero. Fabio Quartararo came home in sixth.

Ai Ogura finished seventh after eventually making his move stick on Johann Zarco, who ended the race in ninth but still gathered valuable points. Between them, Fabio Di Giannantonio secured eighth with a consistent run. Pol Espargaro rounded out the top ten, completing a steady race in the closing group.

2025 Portugese Grand Prix result: