Enea Bastianini had already put to rest the bad memories of last year in Portugal - where he💫 crashed out in the sprint and did not take part in the main race nor the rounds that followed - following his standout Saturday performance which saw him collect pole position.

Sixth in the sprint saw the Ducati Lenovo rider build on that 𓄧success and ꦫit wasn’t long into the Sunday feature race before it became clear a podium was possible, finishing an eventual second to a Jorge Martin masterclass.

The #23 revealed that his sprint performance had given him plenty⭕ to build on, revealing the areas he needed to work on, inc🐈luding his start:

“It ha﷽s been a really great race for me, from the big mistakes committed yesterday it was i🍨mportant to do a great result today - the start was good for me today - but Jorge’s one was better!”

• MotoGP stewards co🌱nfirm Francesco Bagnaia aꦆnd Marc Marquez clash a racing incident
• Jorge Martin🀅 wins as Francesco Ba𓆉gnaia and Marc Marquez collide

Issues as the lights went out resolved, Bastianini then shifted his focus to the rival ahead of him on track - Maverick Vinales. The Aprilia rider was a strong secondಌ until an issue with his gearbox saw him leave the race in dramatic fౠashion on the final lap.

Bastianini expanded☂ on trying to pass the Spa𝄹niard:

“ For the rest of the race I tried to overtake Maverick buꦿt he was really fast, especially in the last sector so it was impos🦂sible for me to try to attack him”.

The Ducati rider added he thought he could “do something mor🍸e to catch him on the last lap” as he put in a series of new best race laps, though in the end it was not necessary.

In💦 comparison, Bast🐟ianini viewed Martin as a bridge too far.

With Martin ahead tho▨ughts did turn to the possibility of a race win, but reeling in an almost faultless performance was a big ask for the Italian:

“Jorge was on top and I was behind M🎶averick so it was dꩲifficult for me to think about victory today.

My target was to fight with Maverick in the last lap, the victory𒐪 for today I think was impossible, I think if I was seco🍬nd place, probably I think it can be a little bit different.

I think Jorge was perfect throughout the race”.

A consistent performance over the opening two rounds, culminating in today’s podium finish sees Bastianini leave Portugal third in the overall standings on෴ 39 points, 21 behind current overall lead🐻er Martin ahead of the third race of the season in Austin, Texas.