A classic 19-lap Moto3 contest kicked off Sunday’s race action at the Algarve International Circuit, with Holgado and Jose Antonio Rueda split by 0.044 seconds at the chequered flag.
Ajo KTM’s Rueda got the best launch from pole and controlled the pace at the front for the first nine laps of the grand prix.
But come the start of the 10th tour, Rueda found himself shuffled down to fourth as Aspar CFMoto’s David Alonso took the lead.
A tense battle followed amongst the lead group, but it would be Tech3 GasGas’ Holgado and Rueda who would break away from the chasing pack slightly to fight for the victory in the closing tours.
Rueda almost retook the lead on the exit of Turn 14 on the last lap as he took a tighter line than Holgado through the corner.
Daniel Holgado, Red Bull KTM Tech3
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
But he couldn’t quite draw alongside to force anything into the last corner, with Holgado just fending his position to the chequered flag.
Ivan Ortola of MT Helmets – MSI KTM completed the podium as Alonso ended up fourth, 1.3s from the podium ahead of BOE Motorsports’ Joel Kelso.
Collin Veijer was sixth for Intact GP Husqvarna from MTA KTM’s Stefano Nepa. Joel Esteban on the second Aspar bike, BOE Motorsport’s David Munoz and Leopard Racing Honda’s Adrian Fernandez completed the top 10.
Holgado now leads the championship from Alonso by seven points.
Portuguese GP – Moto3 results:
First Moto2 win for Canet
A dramatic 21-lap Moto2 grand prix followed, with Fantic Racing’s Aron Cant finally breaking his duck as a grand prix winner in the intermediate class.
Having scored 15 runner-up spots in the 69 Moto2 races prior to this Sunday, Canet took the chequered flag by 2.059s from American Racing’s Joe Roberts.
Canet was boosted into the lead when early leader Alonso Lopez crashed on lap 11.
Lopez took the lead early in the race from Speed Up team-mate Fermin Aldeguer, who headed the pack into Turn 1 off the line having jumped poleman Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini).
However, Ducati MotoGP-bound Aldeguer also managed to jump the start and had to serve two long lap penalties as a result.
This looked to give Lopez the advantage in the battle for the victory before the Spaniard crashed.
Canet was released into a lead of around six tenths before swelling that to over two seconds to score an emotional first win from Roberts and Gonzalez.
Aldeguer came through to fourth after a late battle with MT Helmets – MSI’s Ai Ogura, with the Japanese rider’s team-mate Sergio Garcia sixth.
Celestino Vietti was seventh on the Ajo KTM from Gresini’s Albert Arenas, American Racing’s Marcos Ramirez and Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra.
Canet now leads the championship by two points from Roberts.