There can be something of a misconception when it comes to races being held after the title has been decided. Some people have in the past suggested that with no real stakes at play other than personal glory or satisfaction, riders are less incentivised to push to their limits and race on the very edge. Battles would become less fierce, leads more comfortable, celebrations more subdued. In the end, compared to the races that decide a world championship, these final showdowns would be more of a formality than anything else.
If anything, the opposite is actually true. When riders are close to sealing the deal on a championship, they often take safe results rather than pushing themselves to their limits. With the added pressure of the title battle removed from their shoulders, the battles often reignite on track in rather spectacular fashion. In addition, the riders further down the order now know that they can’t take the championship for themselves, so everyone starts pushing far harder than they may have previously.
So in a way, Fabio Quartararo taking the title in Misano last time out is a blessing for viewers this weekend. MotoGP returns to the roller-coaster for the third time in 12 months with a freshly crowned champion and a lot of hungry riders with things still to prove. There aren’t many better tracks on the calendar for such a scenario to roll into. Portimao is visually incredible to watch, with the riders hitting crests and apexes at high speeds and throwing their machines past one another in awe-inspiring dives. Add to that the fact that there are no higher stakes at play, and it gives us perhaps the best set-up for a proper race that we’ve had in months.
For Quartararo, the beginning of his victory tour couldn’t come at a better venue. The Frenchman had a brilliant win here earlier in the season, taking the lead early on in the race and never relinquishing his lead at any stage. It was one of the first signs of just how dangerous he could be this season, and became one of many brutal victories Fabio was able to accrue over the course of the year. His confidence will be high heading into this weekend, and his competition had better be prepared for him.
Interestingly, the two other podium finishers last time we visited Portugal are now second and third in the championship. Bagnaia and Mir have both had solid seasons marred by mistakes and inconsistency, so both riders will likely be relieved to be back at a circuit they’ve done well at in the past. Bagnaia in particular will be one to watch this time as he very nearly started on pole here previously before a yellow flag infringement dropped him way back down the order. Should he get a better start this time, he could be a real threat for the win.
Mir had a decent race here at the start of the season, but was somewhat gifted his podium finish when two of the contenders in front of him crashed out late on. Zarco and Rins will come here knowing full well what they sacrificed in the Portimao race, and Zarco in particular will lament those lost points as the margins between him and other riders in the standings get closer and closer. Had he not bailed out in the dying stages, he might still be in the hunt for third in the championship, but for now he will likely just be fighting to lock down his position as top independent rider for 2021.
One rider Zarco won’t have to worry about this weekend is Marc Marquez. The Spaniard suffered a concussion during a training incident that has ruled him out of this week’s proceedings, making his chances of a top 5 finish in this year’s championship much slimmer than they looked at the end of the Emilia-Romagna race. Marc will likely take this time to continue his recovery process, and hope that by the time 2022 rolls around he will be ready to take the fight to the younger riders and make a bid for a 9th world title. For now, he finds himself sidelined once again.
It’s probably for the best that Marc set an example like this. MotoGP riders are notoriously blasé about concussions, and can often be found racing after suffering a blow to the head earlier in the same race weekend if the medical staff pass them as fit. How they are able to pass such an examination having been concussed so recently is beyond me, but if a rider with as much stature as Marquez is willing to sit out a race weekend after suffering a similar injury then perhaps people will begin to take it more seriously.
For those wanting championship drama, I recommend tuning into the lightweight classes as well. Both Moto2 and Moto3 have crowns on the line this weekend as Pedro Acosta and Remy Gardner attempt to do the double for Aki Ajo’s KTM-backed project. Both riders have a decent shot at sealing the deal here, and both are previous winners in Portugal, so we could be in for plenty of fireworks come Sunday. And for those who are simply happy with action-packed battles and good racing, well, we should be in for a bit of that too.
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