The event was first held in
1987 at the
Jarama circuit in Spain. The reason for this was because the main Portuguese circuit at the time, the
Circuito do Estoril, was not yet ready to be used for motorcycle racing. However, Portugal still wanted to host a round in the championship that year, and so opted to use the Jarama circuit until their own was ready for use. In
1988, a second race was held at the new
Jerez circuit which was also located in Spain. In 2013 however, the Portuguese round was dropped in favour of the
Circuit of the Americas in the United States. In the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Portuguese Grand Prix returned as the season finale on an altered calendar in the
2020 MotoGP World Championship. The venue chosen to host the round was the
Algarve International Circuit, which has been a reserve circuit since 2017. The race was held with no spectators after a lack of
social distancing on the grandstands at the
Formula 1 race held one month before. In
2021, the originally one-off race was brought back as the third round of the season. The race was also held in 2022. On 2 August 2022, it was announced that Portuguese Grand Prix would be the season-opener event between 24–26 March. In the 2024 season, Portugal hosted its first ever MotoE race with the
2024 MotoE World Championship as the season opener - making them the eight country to host a
MotoE World Championship. ==Official names and sponsors==