#ITALIANGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE – Bezzecchi unbeatable
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Fernandez fends off Martin in Mugello gold medal pursuit
Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) made a Tissot Sprint gold medal collection look pretty easy as the Spaniard fends off the challenge of Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) on Saturday afternoon at Mugello. The winning margin was 1.2s at the flag to see the Italian marque enjoy a Saturday 1-2 on familiar turf, and joining the Aprilia duo on the Sprint podium was Friday pacesetter and home hero Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).
MM93 HOLESHOT BEFORE FERNANDEZ GRABS LEAD
From the off, we had plenty of action. From the second row, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) – on his injury return – got a flyer and lunged into Turn 1 to pinch the holeshot, but he didn’t stay at the front for long. Fernandez, Martin and then rookie Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) carved their way past the reigning World Champion, and next in line was Di Giannantonio. The Italian moved on through at Turn 12 and suddenly, the #93 was P5.
In P6 was polesitter Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) after the title race leader got a sluggish start, but on Lap 2 at the final corner, Bez was also past Marquez.
At the end of Lap 3, Fernandez led Martin by half a second. Di Giannantonio, having moved his way through on Moreira with a beautiful pass at Arrabbiata 1, was 1.4s adrift of the Aprilia duo. Lap 4 then saw Bezzecchi pounce on Moreira to climb into P4, but by this stage, the #72 was over three seconds away from the Sprint leader and 0.9s behind Di Giannantonio in the bronze medal position.
A little further down the order, Enea Bastianini’s (Red Bull KTM Tech3) Sprint ended at Turn 10 as the Italian battled to keep Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) behind him in P7, and soon after, Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was in the gravel at the same corner.
MARTIN ON THE PROWL
With four laps to go, Fernandez held onto the P1 baton by seven tenths, with Martin still over a second and a half up the road from Di Giannantonio. And with three laps to go, the factory Aprilia reeled in the Trackhouse Aprilia to see the gap drop to just under half a second. Was the Mugello gold medal pursuit on for Martin?
Well, the answer was yes, because the gap was 0.5s, but Fernandez did respond to keep Martin at arm’s length. And on the penultimate lap, the leader responded again to boast a 0.8s lead on the final lap.
And sure enough, a flawless ride was capped off with a victory as Fernandez fended off Martin for 12 points, with the latter gaining a few points on Bezzecchi ahead of the main event on Sunday. Di Giannantonio delivered a very good ride to come from P7 on the grid to the podium, with the Italian crossing the line 1.1s clear of fourth place Bezzecchi.
YOUR SPRINT POINTS SCORERS
From pole, the Italian would have been hoping for more than that, but it’s not a disaster by any means after a tricky start. P5 went the way of Marquez, it’s points in his first Sprint since the Le Mans crash, as P6 was clinched by Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP).
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was quick in the latter stages, but the Italian will lament a poor start. It’s P7 for Pecco on Saturday, and P8 for Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team). The last point went to Acosta, with the #37 losing out to Pecco and Ogura in the closing laps.
MOTOGP – RACE: Dreamland: Bezzecchi unbeatable for first victory at beloved Mugello
An Italian, in Italy, on Italian machinery, winning at Mugello. The best day of Marco Bezzecchi’s MotoGP career so far? Hell yeah. That’s what dreams are made of for the World Championship leader as the #72 delivered a faultless performance to send the record-breaking crowd into overdrive. And the day got better for Aprilia Racing as Jorge Martin earned the Italian marque a 1-2, while Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) held off a late Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) attack to return to the Italian GP podium to serve up some more delight for the famous Italian faithful.
THE OPENING EXCHANGES: PECCO POUNCES
From pole, Bezzecchi got away well, and so too did his teammate Martin, with the latter picking up the P1 baton at the opening corner as Sprint winner Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) ran deep into Turn 1. That saw the Spaniard go from P3 to P17.
It didn’t take long for Bezzecchi to grab the lead though. The Italian moved through on Martin at Turn 4, while another home hero was on the move in the form of Bagnaia. The Italian was up to P3 on the opening lap, and that became P2 when Martin ran slightly wide at Turn 1 at the beginning of the second lap.
A lap later, into San Donato again, Pecco then led the Italian Grand Prix. The three-time Mugello winner demoted compatriot and title race leader Bezzecchi to second place. Martin was P3, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) was fending off the challenge of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in the battle for P4, with Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Ogura lurking in P6 and P7.
At the end of Lap 7, Pecco was being shadowed by Bezzecchi, with Martin lapping just over a second behind the Italian duo. In turn, Martin was two seconds ahead of a barnstorming battle between Marquez, Acosta, and Aldeguer.
Acosta made a classy move underneath Marquez at Scarperia, but slipstream wasn’t in the #37’s favour as both Ducatis got the better of the KTM into the fast and furious braking zone of Turn 1. The scrapping meant the chasers were now nearly three seconds adrift of the podium; bad news for top three hopes, but good news for Sprint podium finisher Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team). The Italian was P8, and by Lap 10, latched onto the back of the Marquez, Acosta, Aldeguer, and Ogura group.
BEZ STRIKES
As we clocked through half race distance, Martin began to reel in the top two. The margin decreased from 1.1s to 0.7s, so was this the #89 beginning to apply some pressure? And speaking of, Bezzecchi began to mount pressure on Pecco – so much so that a move for the lead came at Turn 1 with 10 laps to go, and it was a pass that stuck.
Could Pecco respond? Well, straight off the bat, a 0.9s gap opened up between the two. Bezzecchi had pulled the pin here, and now, the second factory Aprilia began to swarm all over the rear wheel of Pecco. And sure enough, on Lap 16, Martin carved his way through on the Ducati star to demote Pecco to P3.
The gap between the top two in the championship was 1.4s, so if Martin had anything left in the tank, it was time to use it. Further back, Acosta and Marquez were still going at it, while Ogura and Di Giannantonio enjoyed front row seats.
OGURA BEGINS PODIUM ATTACK, BEZ CRUISES HOME
Pecco’s pace was a slight concern with six laps left. Was the Italian’s podium under threat? Potentially. Especially when Acosta, and then an aggressive Ogura, followed by Diggia, shoved Marquez to P7. Pecco’s advantage over Acosta and Ogura was 2.9s with five laps to go, with the double MotoGP World Champion consistently half a second slower per lap.
With four laps to go, contact. Ogura blasted past Acosta on the run into Turn 1, and having gone slightly wide, Acosta sniffed a chance to bite back. Two into one doesn’t go though, and with Ogura coming back onto the line, and Acosta coming up the inside, the Japanese and Spaniard clashed again. Neither crashed, but it was a bit of bumping and barging that cost Acosta crucial time. And soon, Diggia demoted the KTM star to P6.
Two to go. Bezzecchi was well on his way to a dream home Grand Prix victory, as Pecco led Ogura by a smidgen over a second. Could the #63 hold on? Ogura was 0.7s behind at the start of the final lap, and while the top two positions were set barring any errors or late drama, P3 wasn’t done.
By Turn 10, the gap was 0.4s. By Turn 11, the gap was nothing. Turn 12 came and went, and so did the Biondetti chicane. Now, Turn 14. Bucine. And Ogura pounced. But Pecco said, ‘Not today, Ai’. Quick thinking saw the Italian dive back through on the cutback and, by a very slender 0.034s, won the drag race to the chequered flag. What a finish in the fight for P3.
Not having to worry about that though were Bezzecchi and Aprilia. A sensational Sunday ride at home saw the Italian win at Mugello in MotoGP. Dreamy. And for Aprilia, a 1-2 at their home Grand Prix thanks to Martin’s superb ride to P2.
YOUR MUGELLO POINT SCORERS
Ogura was close to a second Sunday podium of the season, but P4 from P13 on the grid signals another classy comeback from the Japanese rider. Di Giannantonio loses ground in the championship with a P5, but after a sluggish start, the Italian will settle for that.
Acosta couldn’t have done any more to try and cling onto a top five, it was P6 at the flag for the Spaniard, with Marquez’s P7 an impressive one upon his return from his crucial right shoulder surgery. More to come, as we know, from the reigning World Champion.
Fernandez will rue his Turn 1 mistake which cost the #25 a shot at finishing – at least – on the podium, but from P17 on Lap 1 to P8 on the results sheet, it’s a comeback to be pleased about. Aldeguer slipped to P9, with Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) rounding out the top 10 to earn back-to-back top 10s following his Barcelona P9.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), teammate Luca Marini, Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) capped off the point scorers in Italy.
I had fun today, but it was challenging to manage everything perfectly and maintain a good pace until the end. I did my best, learned a lot from riding behind strong rivals and battling with them, and we secured a top-10 finish in Sunday’s race, which is important. We’re working really well, and we need to keep going in this direction.
Diogo Moreira – P10
I was very ambitious in this race because my pace was good on Friday. I felt more confident with the medium rear tyre than the soft we used in the Sprint. The limit was the front tyre and after three laps we started to have a lot of movement. Also, on the straight I had some movement just before getting on the brakes. This was physically quite tough. The crash was in the same corner as yesterday, but it was a different crash. Yesterday it was on braking but today I fell when I released the brakes and was trying to get on the throttle. It’s a shame but I know Balaton Park will be a better track for us. Let’s try and find something so I feel better over the longer distance.
Enea Bastianini – NC
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