Repsol Honda Team ready for round two
The World Championship heads for the first European race of the year with the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve holding the honours of hosting round two.
An intense opening weekend of MotoGP action returned a plethora of data and findings for the Repsol Honda Team and HRC engineers to analyse in the time between races. This data will be put to the test in Portimao, the 4.59kilometre long circuit, known for its dramatic elevation changes, a world apart from the relatively flat Lusail International Circuit. The Repsol Honda Team claimed pole for the 2023 Portuguese GP with Marc Marquez and are ready to face stiff competition again this year.
Joan Mir rates the Portuguese track as one of his favourites on the calendar and is positive of further improvements coming. The 26-year-old Mallorcan was buoyed by a steady weekend in Qatar where he and the team were able to make consistent improvements and author two satisfactory races to open the year. In 2023, on his Repsol Honda Team debut, Mir scored a steady 11th place finish in the Portuguese GP.
Round two offers Luca Marini another opportunity to continue working on his Honda RC213V after a complicated first race weekend. Pre-season testing showed that there is still more to come from the young Italian and the team and like his teammate, the change of scenery is set to provide further motivations. Improving his feeling on the Repsol Honda Team RC213V remains Marini’s primary focus.
Action begins on Friday at 10:45 Local Time with Free Practice 1 with the 12-lap Sprint scheduled for 15:00 Local Time on Saturday. Then all attention turns to the Portuguese Grand Prix, 25 laps on Sunday at 14:00 Local Time.
Joan Mir
“I am looking forward to getting back on the bike and continuing the job we started in Qatar. There’s a lot of work to do, but after starting well at a track that is not the best for us, I am confident that we can do more in Portugal. It’s a track that I enjoy and I think we have more potential there. Ready to work, ready to make progress and ready to have another positive weekend on the Honda RC213V.”
Luca Marini
“The best thing we can do at the moment is keep riding, so of course it’s great to be heading to Portugal and Portimao. It’s a track which is very different to where we have started the year so I am curious to see how the Honda goes there. We're in the process of developing the bike, working with Honda, gathering information at different tracks to improve. Our objective is to find a better feeling with the bike in order to be more competitive.”
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bagnaia Francesco | 1 | ITA | 31 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 2 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 29 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 3 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 28 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
| 4 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 18 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 5 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 15 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 6 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 15 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 7 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 13 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 8 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 9 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 9 | Acosta Pedro | 31 | SPA | 9 | Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 | KTM |
| 10 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 7 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 11 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 5 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 12 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 4 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 13 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 3 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
| 14 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | 2 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 15 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 1 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia |
| 16 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 0 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 17 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | 0 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia |
| 18 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 0 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 19 | Fernandez Augusto | 37 | SPA | 0 | Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 | KTM |
| 20 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 0 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
| 21 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 22 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 0 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
Location Information
The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve has 15 corners – nine right, six left. The undulation in Portimao is incredible and the front straight will allow the MotoGP™ riders to really stretch the legs of their machines, before a unique downhill descend into Turn 1. There’s a reason it gets called… read more.
| Length | 4.592 km |
| Width | 14m |
| Left Corners | 6 |
| Right Corners | 9 |
| Longest Straight | 969 m |
| Constructed | 2008 |
Records
| Pole Position | 1'37.226 (170.0Km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2023) |
| Race Lap | 1'38.685 (167.5Km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Time | 41'18.138(166.7km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2024) |
| 2024 Winner | Jorge Maratin (Ducati) |
| 2024 Sprint Winner | Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) |
