Written by Andrew Lwanga, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
After the settling of the desert dust from the Qatari night has settled, where the reigning champion emerged victorious, MotoGP makes its way to Europe for Round two of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship.
Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Protimao’s famed rollercoaster of a race track, will host the 22 contenders to line up on the grid.
One of the most demanding race tracks on the calendar, the circuit is one of the best modern day race tracks, featuring the perfect combination of wide sweeping corners and sharp hairpin bends, as every turn around the track poses a new challenge.
The hard braking zones are made even harder with the elevation change, from which the track gets its rollercoaster moniker.
Arriving in Portugal, Francesco Bagnaia has the proverbial upper hand. The Italian put on a determined performance during the grand prix, having fallen short of the podium during the sprint, to emerge victorious on Sunday, and pick up an early championship lead.
Looking to hunt down the world champion is familiar foe Jorge Martin, who to no one's surprise won the sprint race in Qatar. Going into Portimao, the Spaniard is aiming to stand on the top step on Sunday as well.
Ducati’s mechanical advantage has seemingly carried over into the new season, however, the prowess of the KTM’s and Aprilia is yet to be explored. Conventional thinking suggests that other manufacturers will be better suited to traditional European-style race tracks making the next part of the season all so important.