Francesco Bagnaia secures sprint race victory for Ducati Lenovo at MotoGP season opener in Portugal

Updated 25/03/2023 at 17:59 GMT

Current world champion, Ducati Lenovo's Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia, won the season-opening sprint race at the Portugal Grand Prix in Portimao on Saturday afternoon. Bagnaia trailed Marc Marquez at the start of the first lap but quickly got his nose in front, and he starts the season atop the rankings, ahead of Sunday's full race where more points are up for grabs.

Francesco Bagnaia bites on his medal after the sprint of the MotoGP Grande Premio TISSOT de Portugal at Autodromo do Algarve on March 25, 2023 in Lagoa, Algarve, Portugal.

Image credit: Getty Images

World champion Francesco Bagnaia won the sprint race in the first MotoGP of the year in Portugal.

The sprint offered up the chance of 12 points for the winner and then nine for second place, seven for third, and a point fewer all the way down to ninth place.

The action from Portimao kicked off after qualifying with Marc Marquez in pole, followed by Bagnaia in second and then Jorge Martin in third as the last rider on the front row.

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Marquez led from the start but could only hold off the challenge of Ducati Lenovo’s Bagnaia for so long before giving up the lead.

There was early drama as Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini went out in the second lap, and two later Marco Bezzecchi followed into the gravel.

As competition heated up at the front of the pack, Jack Miller raced into second place, but in the final lap there were seven riders all with a shout of claiming the win.

Ultimately it came down to a shootout between Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, with the former carrying the win to start the season top of the pile.

Sunday sees the full MotoGP go ahead with the chance to win further points in the new campaign.