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2023 MotoGP World Championship
2023 Portuguese Grand Prix
Algarve International Circuit
Portimao, Portugal
Sunday, 26 March 2023
Reigning MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia will be targeting only his second podium at the
Portuguese Grand Prix when the new season gets underway on Sunday, March 26.
The Ducati Lenovo Team rider won his maiden MotoGP title in 2022 after finishing 17 points ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, who was dethroned as the 2021 champion.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Bagnaia recovered from a slow start to win five of the last 10 races and claimed 10 podium finishes overall, with a P9 at the season-ending Valencian Community Grand Prix handing him the coveted trophy.
This will be the Italian's fourth outing on the Algarve International Circuit in the premier class, having retired in 2020 and securing P2 in 2021 before managing P8 last season.
Image copyright: Getty Images
'Pecco' believes Ducati and Aprilia are way ahead of their competitors following last week's testing in Portimao and admits the early signs are positive for the new bike compared to last year at this stage.
"I saw that the Ducati and the Aprilia are in this moment unbeatable, very competitive, but it's very difficult to know," he said.
"Honestly, last year at the test it was a complete disaster. We couldn't figure out what the problem was, and we were only further ahead after two or three races.
"But the new bike is more similar to last year's bike, but it's a bit different. It changes a bit the riding style, the way you approach braking, but honestly I quite like this bike."
2022 Portuguese Grand Prix results
Winner: Fabio Quartararo - Monster Energy Yamaha
Second Place: Johann Zarco - Pramac Racing
Third Place: Aleix Espargaro - Aprilia Racing
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