Star Metro - Dominant Bezzecchi wins Portuguese MotoGP

Starting from pole, the 26-year-old Italian controlled the 25-lap race from start to finish ahead of Alex Marquez (Ducati-Gresini) and Pedro Acosta (KTM).

After a frantic opening lap in which Franco Morbidelli slid off the track, Bezzecchi took total control and never allowed Marquez to close.

The Italian finished 2.583 seconds in front of Marquez who recovered from a mistake in qualifying to claim his 12th podium of the season.

For the second day running, Marquez was kept on his toes throughout by 21-year-old Acosta who finished second behind him in Saturday's sprint.

Acosta narrowed the gap in the closing laps and finished just half a second further back.

"I'm very happy, it was a fantastic race for me," said Bezzecchi who on Saturday finished third in the sprint.

"I was super afraid about Pedro and Alex but motivated to get a win.

"This morning I felt better. Yesterday evening we worked very hard to find that little extra to catch Pedro and Alex because yesterday they were super-quick."

Bezzecchi's second win of the season, and his fifth overall in MotoGP, meant he can take third place in the championship behind Marc Marquez, who had already wrapped up his seventh title, and his brother Alex, who is sure of second.

Bezzecchi is three points behind Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia, who only lasted 10 laps.

Marc Marquez was again missing after undergoing surgery on a fracture caused by a crash on the first lap of the Indonesian Grand Prix on October 5 by which stage he had already claimed his first title since 2019.

The longest-ever MotoGP season ends next weekend with the 22nd race in Valencia.

J.Campbell--SMC