MotoGP™ Fantasy: riders to pick for the Portuguese GP

Round 2 of the 2024 MotoGP™ season brings us to Portimao’s famous Autódromo Internacional do Algarve – aka the rollercoaster. And that brings a new opportunity for MotoGP™ Fantasy players to pocket a healthy haul of points before a couple of weeks off.

Round 1’s top scorers

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) winning the Tissot Sprint and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) claiming victory in the race was a familiar sight, wasn’t it? The top two from last year hit the ground running in Qatar, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) earning two classy P2s. Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) also enjoyed his debut weekend with Ducati, and it’s these four riders – plus Ducati as a manufacturer – who bagged the most points in Qatar: 

Bagnaia – 45 pts
Binder – 40 pts
Martin – 38 pts
Marc Marquez – 27 pts

Who to pick in Portimao?

It’s a good question. Those four riders who topped the charts in Qatar will be popular, and all are great picks – not only for Portimao but for the season. Marc Marquez claimed pole position and a Sprint podium on an underperforming Honda in Portugal last season, so if you’ve not got the #93 in your team, then he’s one to think about. Especially considering we have a trip to COTA coming up very soon…

Bagnaia did the double at last year’s Portuguese GP and won in the Algarve in 2021, so it goes without saying the World Champion is someone who should be on your radar. If you want a slightly cheaper rider and someone who went well in Portugal last season, Martin is the star who falls into that category. Marc Marquez does too. 

Surprisingly, Binder isn’t in the top 10 most-owned riders. That's surely going to change in the coming weeks though because if he keeps up the form from Qatar, the South African should be near the summit of your shopping list. Binder didn’t have the best of weekends in Portugal last year, but a P6 in the race wasn’t a bad result. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished P4 in 2023’s Sprint, so the KTM goes well in Portimao. 

Apart from the obvious, top-rated riders to own, two riders who may tickle your fancy this weekend are Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) and Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing MotoGP™). The former finished 0.6s from Pecco in last year’s race, with home hero Oliveira a former winner in Portimao. The #88 was also in the victory hunt in 2023 - his debut on a year-old RS-GP - until the incident with Marc Marquez, so expect the Portuguese rider to have a solid weekend in front of his home faithful.

$2.3m for Viñales and $2.0m for Oliveira make them cheaper options too, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) also acting as a shrewd pick this weekend at $2.4m. The Spaniard will be aiming to bounce back from his Sunday disappointment in Qatar, and as was proved last year, the RS-GP can sing a podium-worthy tune around Portimao. Time will tell if that's the case this season. 

Elsewhere, we can't finish without mentioning the #31. With over 25,000 players owning him already in Qatar, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) is the most-owned rider in the game ahead of Round 2. Partly because of his price ($1.8m), but mainly due to how eye-catching he's been. Portimao is a circuit Acosta has won at three times before, so if you're one of the few who don't own the Spaniard, then you might want to change that pretty soon if he keeps impressing like he did in Qatar. 

As always, make sure you're locked in before MotoGP™ Q1 starts at 10:50 local time (UTC) in Portimao.