Pedro Acosta completed the podium double at a sunny and temperate Algarve International Circuit by sliding his Red Bull KTM RC16 to a strong 3rd place today for the Portuguese Grand Prix and the 21st episode of MotoGP this year. The Spaniard battled for the top three and grabbed 16 points to complement his P2 from the Saturday Sprint. Elsewhere the KTM GP Academy posted a notable result with Collin Veijer walking the Moto2™ rostrum for the first time in his rookie season.
Pedro Acosta had already grasped another Sprint medal at the sweeping AIC on Saturday as he vied for victory and just missed out on P1 by 0.1 of a second. Acosta started the sunny 25-lap Grand Prix from 2nd place (his first front row start of the campaign) as Pol Espargaro set-off from 10th and Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini filled 14th and 16th respectively.
Pedro was again a candidate for full points as he provided more exciting speed around the looping 4.5km layout on the Algarve. He was joined near the front by a barreling Binder who was eager to make ground and show more of his pace potential by moving to P6. Espargaro was on the fringe of the top ten. Bastianini was also gassing-it hard but contact on the first lap and damage to his bike meant he had to pull into the pits. Enea then re-entered the race but classified 18th.
The race rhythm remained constant for Acosta who was able to close-up to the rear wheel of the rider in 2nd but not near enough for an overtake. Pedro eventually toasted P3 for the second time this term in what was his fifth podium and third ‘double’. Brad engaged in a busy fight for the top five and sealed the placing for his second highest result of the season. Pol buzzed past the flag with P10 and has made the top ten in four of his 2025 substitute outings.
The Valencian Grand Prix at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit will drop the curtain on the championship next weekend. Acosta has confirmed a top five finish in 2025 but still has the chance to snare P4.
KTM hold 3rd in the Constructors standings while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing are 4th in the Teams contest and Red Bull KTM Tech3 hold 9th.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd and 5th in the championship standings: “We didn’t have the best grip from the beginning and that was the limitation for us. I was able to be quick at the end of the race – like yesterday – but we have things to think about. We have to be happy, again we have back-to-back podiums. I want to thank all the team, KTM, Dani and Pol. We know our weak points but we are working on them and being on the podium again is a good signal.”
Brad Binder, 5th and 11th in the championship standings: “Happy with the job today. I felt I could do something decent after the Sprint and the confidence I had. I felt great on the bike and my guys did a great job. I was able to get a good start and push on right away. It was nice to battle a bit and good also that the changes we made gives a direction for what we need further.”
Pol Espargaro, 10th: “I’m happy to finish this ‘cycle’ here in Portugal. It was a tricky and difficult weekend for me but I overcame the doubts I had for this place. I’m pleased: I finished the race in the top ten and delivered good information to the team. Hopefully now Maverick can come back soon and that’s great news for us and the whole project.”
Enea Bastianini, 18th and 14th in the championship standings: “After the contact I had a problem with the fairing and my steering was locked so I had to stop. I think it was possible to do a great race today and when I went back out I felt the pace would have been good enough for the top five. As always it is hard to start from behind. We are competitive for races and we find the direction but at the moment we need to make the softer tire be more of an advantage for me.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We’re really happy with today’s performance: two riders in the top five and one on the podium. We’ve worked all year to have solid results and with Pedro and Brad in the top five is really good for us at the moment. Generally, we’re really satisfied with the weekend and especially on Saturday, with this chance to fight for the win until the flag. It gave us a boost and we hoped to have that chance again today so we need to analyze why we were not quite as close. Now we move on to the final race and then the first test towards 2026 and we’ll keep pushing with the positive work we are making.”
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia 41:13.616
1. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +2.583
3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +3.188
5. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +16.327
10. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +26.517
18. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +2 laps
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 545 points
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 445
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia, 323
5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 285
11. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 145
14. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 106
17. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 72
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 finished the Grand Prix schedule on Sunday but with a host of KTM GP Academy KTM RC4s hungry for success from the top half of the start grid. Notable absences due to injury included world champion Jose Antonio Rueda and Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Jacob Roulstone but the Spaniard and Australian were replaced by Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup champ Brian Uriarte and Joel Esteban respectively.
Moto3 accelerated through Moto2 and MotoGP rubber around the AIC curves, where grabbing a tow using the dynamics of the group was an important part of race strategy. Alvaro Carpe pushed for an early pace and Esteban was also in the first pack of 11 riders going for the podium.
The 19-lap distance wound-down and Valentin Perrone was forced to retire after a crash. Esteban and Carpe fought for the top four with the former winning the duel. Uriarte was in the second group and finished P13. KTM have already been able to celebrate world titles for Riders, Team (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Constructors and after Portimao the standings further revealed top six confirmation for Carpe but still with the possibility for the top four.
Moto2 was the first race of the Portuguese Grand Prix and with Red Bull KTM Ajo duo Collin Veijer and Daniel Muñoz sitting in promising grid positions of 3rd and 10th (the second front row slot of the year for rookie Veijer). The intermediate class blasted around the Algarve International Circuit for 21 laps and the Dutchman lunged to the front for the first time in his career at the end of the third circulation. He set the fastest lap as leader midway and then formed part of a three-rider chase for P1. Collin was denied by just 0.090 at the line but was still able to celebrate his first Moto2 bottle of Prosecco as runner-up and underlined his progress in the second half of the season by building on persistent top ten presence. The Spaniard was part of a large and busy third group and scored P11 position.
Collin Veijer: “I don’t know what to say. It’s been a rollercoaster this year. I lost my cousin in an accident and then everything that happened with my injury. I want to say ‘hello’ to Jose [Antonio Rueda] and I hope he gets back soon because we miss him a lot in the team. It was an amazing race. I tried to make my own pace and I knew it was going quite well. I could then see the gap shrinking at the end but, overall, I think we can enjoy this and move onto the last one in Valencia.”
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Portugal
1. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team 34:05.182
2. Angel Piqueras (ESP), KTM +1.663
3. Taiyo Furusato (JPN), Honda +2.886
4. Joel Esteban (ESP), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +3.243
5. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +3.537
13. Brian Uriarte (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +24.315
14. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +29.897
DNF. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 365 points
2. Angel Piqueras (ESP), KTM, 271
3. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 263
5. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 195
10. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 128
14. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 96
16. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 61
Results Moto2 Grand Prix of Portugal
1. Diogo Moreira (BRA) 35:40.573
2. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.090
3. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.492
7. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +8.376
11. Daniel Muñoz (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +15.042
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Diogo Moreira (BRA), 281 points
2. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP), 257
3. Barry Baltus (BEL), 232
6. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 188
7. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 153
12. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 100
15. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 84