Alex Marquez admits where he lacked ‘confidence’ in Pedro Acosta duel at the Portuguese Grand Prix

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Alex Marquez of Gresini won the Sprint Race at the 2025 MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix by a mere 0.120 seconds over KTM star Pedro Acosta at Portimao this Saturday.

The two Spaniards tussled throughout the 12-lap affair in the Algarve, with Marquez coming out on top for his second Sprint win of the year. Acosta is yet to take a Sprint Race win in his fledgling MotoGP career, but he now has three silver medals, including two for KTM in 2025.

Acosta initially took the lead of the Portimao Sprint away from Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi on the second lap. But the Mazarron native was unable to break away before Marquez flew past Bezzecchi for P2 on Lap 3 of 12 and set about taking the lead for the first time on Lap 6.

While Acosta initially managed to snap back at Marquez, the latter ultimately made his vital overtake at Turn 1 with four laps to go and got his elbows out to prevent a response. Acosta tried a last-ditch charge on the final tour to reclaim the lead, but his attack fell 0.120s short.

Alex Marquez lacked ‘confidence’ in his bike despite beating Pedro Acosta to win the Portimao Sprint

Fine margins ultimately decided the result of the Sprint during the penultimate round of the 2025 MotoGP season, as Marquez beat Acosta to win the Portimao Sprint. The Gresini rider was not totally happy with his performance, though, having lacked confidence with his bike.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2025 MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix

Championship runner-up Marquez felt he could not defend from Acosta in the Sprint at the Portuguese GP as easily as he would have liked, as he lacked confidence with the front end of his Ducati GP24. He now hopes to find a quick fix in time for the feature race on Sunday.

Marquez said, via quotes by Motorsport.com: “I couldn’t defend myself very well because I didn’t have all the necessary confidence in the front end.

“Races are always great when you end up winning, but you have to polish the details, because yesterday I was a bit more comfortable than today.”

Alex Marquez will be the favourite to win the Portuguese Grand Prix after his Sprint victory

Acosta’s aggressive nature offered the KTM rider opportunities to attack Marquez whenever the Gresini star sealed the lead of the Sprint Race at the Portuguese GP. But the straight-line advantage of the Ducati GP24 over the KTM RC16 gifted Marquez a vital edge over Acosta.

Marquez was often in a different league compared to Acosta along the pit straight, which let him overcome his confidence issues with the front end of his bike. Should Gresini find a way to improve Marquez’s confidence, he should be the favourite to win the Portuguese GP, too.

While Bezzecchi scored pole position for the Portuguese GP in front of Acosta and Marquez only sealed P5 on the grid, the Aprilia rider could not truly match the two Spaniards’ pace in the Sprint. Bezzecchi was left to play a watching role and he finished 0.637s behind the lead.