Marquez was having his best ride of
the season and looked to challenge for
a first podium in 2021 until the race was
red-flagged with two laps to go following a
crash involving Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM)
and Red Bull KTM's Miguel Oliveira, in
which Lecuona slammed into hometown
hero Oliveira, sending both riders into the
gravel trap.
Bagnaia was at least kept honest by Mir
in second place, but the result was never
in doubt, as his win and Miller's third
place sealed the Constructors Champion-
ship title for Ducati.
"I would have liked to finish the race un-
der the checkered flag and not under the
red flag, but it was still a stunning victory,"
Bagnaia said. "It was an incredible week-
end, and I enjoyed every single session.
Right from the start, I felt comfortable.
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 9, 2021 P63
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
T
he second time around at Portimao
for 2021 saw Francesco Bagnaia
(Lenovo Ducati) take one of the
most dominant wins of his career to date,
with a new lap record of 1:39.725 for pole
position and a win that saw him control
the world's best like they were on strings.
Bagnaia's speed was absolute at the
undulating rollercoaster that is the
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve as
he bested 2020 World Champion Joan
Mir in his best result for the Suzuki team
for 2021. Bagnaia's teammate Jack Miller
rounded out the podium in third after hav-
ing one of the more eventful races after
engaging with LCR Honda's Alex Marquez
for the second half of the event.
THE
Francesco "Pecco"
Bagnaia's pace
was metronomic,
the Italian putting
in 18 laps in a row
that were never
more than 0.4
seconds apart.
R O L L E R
