Holgado holds strong to take incredible maiden victory

Moto3™ was back to its full glory with a jaw-dropping action-packed race to open the 2023 season. It was Daniel Holdgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who fought his way to the front and defended his lead all race long to take his debut victory at the Grande Prémio TISSOT de Portugal. It was drama right until the final moments in Moto3™ which saw David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) fight his way to 2nd place, and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) take the final podium spot in a dramatic drag to the line.

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The lights went out and it was a lighting launch for Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) who jumped from 3rd to take the whole shot. Holgado also flew off the line, putting himself in 3rd place having started on the 2nd row.

It was Kelso led first time across the line, with Holgado shadowing his every move. With 18 laps to go, the race victor decided it was time to start his charge for victory, taking the lead away from the Aussie. Kelso tried hard to bounce back but didn't quite have enough in the tank.

The freight train began to form, and with 15 laps to go Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP) put himself in contention with a 4-bike slipstream dragging himself to the front,  and slotting himself nicely behind race leader Holgado.

Sasaki shadowed Holgado for a while whilst fending off attacks from the menacing Muñoz. The Spaniard made his move with 12 laps to go, and then had his sights set on Holgado out front. However, one lap later and Sasaki pulled off an incredible two-in-one move as they barrelled down into Turn 1.

Holgado began to run away with it and it was down to Sasaki to chase him down. The hotly-tipped title favourite brought down the gap to Holgado, taking the lead with 8 laps to go. Holgado quickly bounced back in a slipstreaming reshuffle that bumped Sasaki down to 3rd spot.

The slipstreaming continued but Holgado bounced back to the front every time, defending his lead as the chaos unfolded behind him.

With 2 laps Holgado had a lead of 0.5s, but Muñoz used the slipstream to reel in the Spaniard and slotted himself up the inside of the 2nd-placed Moreira, in hopes of unsettling the race leader.

Last lap time and Moreira fought his way back to P2 giving everything he had to make his way into the lead,  but the Brazilian ran wide at Turn 5, letting Muñoz back through. It was now between Holgado and Muñoz for the win, with just half a lap remaining.

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With just a few corners left Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) slotted himself into P3. Holdgado fended off attacks from Muñoz and the chasing back, getting the perfect drive out of the final corner to take his first-ever Grand Prix victory. As the rest of the pack crossed the line the young Brazilian Moreira snatched 3rd place away from the rookie Rueda in typical Moto3™ fashion, slipstreaming the Spaniard to the line.

Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) rounded out the top 5 after putting himself in podium contention throughout the race, with Ayumu Sasaki taking P6 to open his 2023 championship campaign. Kelso dropped down to 9th spot after leading early on in the race.

Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) put in a brilliant top 10 performance with an incredible recovery to come flying through the pack to take the fastest lap of the race, after starting from pitlane due to technical issues onboard his KTM on the warm up lap.

The rookie Colin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP) picked up P12 in his debut Grand Prix as Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) took the final points-scoring position in 15th.

With Round 1 completed, the attention now turns to the Gran Premio Michelin® de la República Argentina for the 2nd round of the Grand Prix calendar. Make sure to keep updated with all the action as it unfolds on motogp.com