Cloudy skies covered the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve on Sunday ahead of the most anticipated moment of the weekend for the lightweight category, the first to line up on the starting grid of the Grande Prémio Tissot de Portugal Moto3 shortly before 11:00 a.m. local time, Daniel Holgado preparing to start from the second row, in fourth position.
Daniel Holgado, who gave the Tech3 Racing team its first ever Moto3™ victory in the opening round of the 2023 season, was aiming for nothing more than to retain their crown in Portugal. But that was without counting on his rivals for the title, Jose Antonio Rueda, who took his first pole position on Saturday, the championship leader David Alonso and pilots like Ivan Ortola et Colin Veijer, all eager to achieve victory on the beloved roller coaster.
When the lights go out, the first turns are lively, but Daniel Holgado manages to settle into the leading group, behind Rueda who got off to an excellent start. This is the start of numerous overtakes and changes of positions between them, although Rueda manages to stay in the lead for ten laps, before David Alonso takes over. With eight laps to go, Dani is third, just under 0,5 seconds from the lead, with Rueda in his rear wheel, who won't let him go. Red Bull KTM rider Ajo continues to put pressure on Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 rider, manages to close in on Holgado, but the number 96 quickly returns to second place. Meanwhile, the chasing group Ortola-Veijer-Kelso returned, with a gap of 0.633 on third. On the next lap, Holgado overtook Alonso on the main straight and took the lead in an intense Portuguese GP.
With five laps to go, will Dani retain his crown? Alonso and Rueda don't want to give up, but neither does Holgado, of course. The chasing group then caught up with them, bringing the number of potential winners in the race to six with three laps to go. At the start of the last lap, Holgado took the lead of the race. He closed every possible corner, remembering the last round in Qatar, and took the checkered flag first, to take his first victory in 2024!
History has repeated itself. Holgado won the race in 2023 after starting from fourth on the grid, and won again today from fourth. Great job for Holgado and his team, who are heading into the third round leading the championship!
The next round will take place in Austin, for the Grand Prix of the Americas, on April 12,13,14, 2024.
Daniel Holgado: “I am very happy with my first victory of the season, the second in a row in Portugal. Our weekend wasn't perfect, on Friday we weren't really fast, but we took a good step forward on Saturday, and we had a great qualifying. I learned from Qatar and had a smart race today. We attacked in the last laps and we were able to hold on until the end. We did a fantastic job with the team, thank you everyone! »
Hervé Poncharal: “After the little disappointment of the race in Qatar, we knew that Portugal was going to be another very competitive race, because there are clearly four-five riders ahead of the others. Friday was a bit difficult for Daniel Holgado, but he found what he needed on Saturday. I was disappointed not to see him on the front row, but he told me: “Don't worry boss, last year I started P4 and won the race! I kept thinking about it and said to myself: why not? Dani had a super good start, there was a strong battle between Alonso, Ortola, Rueda and Holgado until the last two-three laps. I think Dani's team, led by Hector Testuri, made the right tire choice, with mediums front and rear, and he was the only one like that in the lead group. In the final laps he had better grip, which helped him maintain first place. Moto3 races are so difficult and stressful to watch, but when you win one it's an incredible feeling. Congratulations to the team and thanks to Pierer Mobility for their support. Of course, I would also like to congratulate Jacob Roulstone, our debutant. He did a great job today, even though his start wasn't very good, but then he managed to move up to 11th place. He is very intelligent and very hardworking, he doesn't talk much but acts on the track, and I think he has a great future. Superb weekend in Portugal, we leave with the lead in the drivers' championship and the teams' championship, so let's continue to work well like that! »
Moto3 Portuguese Grand Prix 2024 results:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
