The second round of the 2024 FIM Grand Prix World Championship took place from March 22 to 24 at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal, previously known as Portimao.
The Gresini MotoGP Team featured the Spanish brother duo: Marc Marquez on the #93 bike and Alex Marquez on the #73 for the season.
Both riders qualified for Q2, with Marc securing eighth on the grid and Alex starting twelfth. In the Sprint race held on Saturday, Marc claimed second place while Alex finished thirteenth.
The main MotoGP race, a 25-lap event covering approximately 114.8 kilometers, took place on Sunday.
It was an unfortunate day for the Spanish riders: Marc started strong, reaching fifth position, and Alex moved up to twelfth. However, Alex crashed on lap two at Turn 5, rejoined the race at the back, and eventually retired on lap 18. Marc, battling for fifth, collided with another rider on lap 23, causing both to crash. Marc managed to return to the track, finishing sixteenth.
After the race, discussions about the incident dominated online forums, with opinions divided on responsibility.
Marc commented, “It was an accident that nobody wanted. We didn’t score points, but after a positive weekend, I found consistency and speed. The stewards decided no further action was needed, and we accept that. Pecco was defending his position, maybe a bit optimistically, but this is not the outcome anyone wanted.”
Alex expressed his disappointment, saying, “It’s a shame because we had a good start. I pushed hard at the beginning, giving my all, and unfortunately, I crashed. I continued just in case it rained, which would have changed everything, but I decided to retire. It’s a Sunday to forget, but we’ll try again in Austin (the third round).”