Here Are The Winners And Losers From The First European GP

Much like the elevation changes of the Portimao circuit, the third round of the 2021 MotoGP season in Portugal turned out to be a great day for Fabio Quartararo. Not only did he win the race but his championship rivals faltered along the way. Here are our picks for the winners and losers from Portimao:

Biggest Winner: Fabio Quartararo
A superb race from start to finish from the Frenchman. He bided his time in the initial stages and made the critical moves to get up ahead at the front at the right moment. He was among the few riders who started with a harder rear tyre, which paid its dividend towards the middle of the race. Fabio kept banging fastest lap after fastest lap, going on to win the race by a comfortable gap of nearly five seconds. This is his second win of the season, he leads the championship by 14 points and the next race is at Jerez, where he won both races last year in a dominant fashion. Is this going to be the year for the Frenchman?

Other winners:
Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia
Pecco has been one of the most consistent Ducati riders this season, picking up two podiums so far. It was a shame that his lap record-setting qualifying time was scrapped due to a yellow flag infringement, which as a result he had to start on the fourth row of the grid. Had he started on the front two rows, he would have had a great shot for the victory. Nevertheless, the Italian rider has much to be happy about, as he too had a decent showing in Jerez last year before mechanical ailments curtailed his race.

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Joan Mir
‘Mister Consistency’ is a title that reigning world champion is earning for himself. Mir was eager to stick around with Fabio, teammate Alex Rins and Johann Zarco during the initial stages of the race. Both Rins and Zarco crashed out ahead of him and Mir couldn’t stop the fast charging Bagnaia. In the end, a third-placed finish was good for him to defend his championship.

Honorary mention: Marc Marquez
The weekend was already hyped with the news of the return of Marc Marquez who was sidelined by a arm injury for the whole of last season, even missing the first two race of 2021. Marquez, who had aggravated his injury by rushing and getting back on the bike, has been watching patiently how the two Qatar GPs panned out, all the while training to get back to race fitness. He was on the pace for most of the practice sessions and even managed to get through to Q2, qualifying sixth. Ultimately, he could not manage to keep up with the fast bunch of riders for the entirety of the race, with him seemingly not firing on all cylinders just yet. Still, finishing seventh is a monumental effort on the nine-times champion's part. He is bound to get better as the season unfolds and who know, might just be a title contender come the crunch period.

Biggest Loser: Jack Miller
From being touted as one of the title favourites to yet another disastrous outing, Jack Miller’s horror of a 2021 campaign continues. Jack was in the top five during the opening laps, when he lost traction heading into turn three, bringing an abrupt end to his race. Miller now has 14 points from the opening three rounds and is down in 12th position. He seriously needs a podium finish in the next couple of rounds or else his seat in the factory Ducati team will be threatened, especially with Zarco hitting peak form.

Other losers:
Maverick Vinales
It was yet another disaster for Maverick Vinales. The winner of the season-opener fell down to last position by the end of lap one and didn’t have the same pace as his teammate Quartararo or the other Petronas Yamahas. He climbed back up to finish 11th, overtaking a few riders in the final period of the race. The crashes of Valentino Rossi, Rins, Zarco, and Miller also helped him salvage something from a forgettable afternoon.

Alex Rins and Johann Zarco
Just how crucial will these lost points be for title aspirants Alex Rins and Zarco come the end of the season. Rins was matching Fabio’s pace throughout the race. Ultimately, his tyres couldn’t keep up and he washed his front away. In similar fashion, Zarco was on course for another podium finish, behind Pecco and hopefully maintaining championship lead. But he too lost his front end and with that his championship lead.

With two weeks rest now, Fabio has emerged as the strongest challenger for the 2021 championship. Can he be stopped? How will Marc Marquez fare at the circuit that he had his infamous crash last year? Will we see a return of Andrea Dovizioso on the Aprilia RS-GP? May 2 cannot come sooner.