Portugal first hosted a round of the motorcycle World Championship in 1987 at the Jarama circuit in Spain. The Circuito do Estoril, which was Portugal's primary racing facility at the time, was not yet homologated for motorcycle Grand Prix racing, yet Portugal still wished to participate in the championship that year. Jarama was used under Portuguese flag and name as a temporary solution. The following year, 1988, the race moved to the Jerez circuit — also in Spain — and was marketed under the name "EXPO '92," a reference to the World Exposition held in Seville. This arrangement makes Portugal unique in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history as the only country to have hosted multiple rounds under its national name while the races were physically held on foreign soil.
The Portuguese Grand Prix returned in 2000, this time on Portuguese soil, at the Estoril Circuit after it received homologation for international motorcycle racing. Estoril, located west of Lisbon on the Atlantic coast, hosted the round consistently through 2012, when it staged what would prove to be its final MotoGP event following an agreement between the circuit owners and the Portuguese government. The following year, 2013, the Portuguese round was dropped from the calendar in favour of the new Circuit of the Americas fixture in the United States.
The Portuguese Grand Prix returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2020 as part of the heavily rescheduled season forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming the season finale. The chosen venue was the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão, a circuit that had served as a MotoGP reserve venue since 2017. The race was held without spectators after failures of social distancing at a Formula One event at the same circuit the previous month prompted caution from authorities.
The 2021 race was retained as the third round of the season, and the event continued in 2022. From 2023 onwards, it was confirmed as the season-opening round, scheduled for late March, giving the Algarve International Circuit and the Portimão region a prominent position at the front of the global MotoGP calendar.
The 2024 Portuguese Grand Prix was notable for hosting Portugal's first MotoE race as part of the MotoE World Championship season opener, making Portugal the eighth country to stage a MotoE World Championship round.
Title sponsorship of the Portuguese Grand Prix has evolved considerably over the decades. The early Estoril editions carried Marlboro branding. Following the return at Portimão, the event was associated with MEO (a Portuguese telecommunications company), online gambling operator 888, and later the watchmaker Tissot. From 2025, the sponsorship shifted to Qatar Airways, with 2026 seeing Repsol take on the naming rights under the Repsol Grand Prix of Portugal designation.