| May 30, 2022
Pecco is back on top! In another classic 63 vs. 20, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was back to his flawless winning ways at the front of the field in the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley at Mugello, bouncing back in style from a crash out in France. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) nevertheless gave it everything he had, stalking the Ducati rider for the majority of the race after the two picked their way to the front. In taking second, ‘El Diablo’ also extends his lead in the Championship.
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) came through into third for his fourth podium in a row, giving Aprilia some home turf glory and becoming only the third rider on the grid, along with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Andrea Dovizioso (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP), to have taken four or more premier class podiums in a row.
Ducati had swept the top five in qualifying but, rather than the slightly more accustomed Bagnaia being on the front row, it was rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP) starting from pole, fellow rookie Marco Bezzecchi sitting second and Mooney VR46 Racing teammate Luca Marini alongside. Di Giannantonio made a good launch and emerged with the lead from San Donato despite an attack from the VR46 duo, but Marini got past as they turned into Materassi as Bezzecchi slotted into third at the start of the 23 laps that lay ahead.
Bezzecchi overtook Di Giannantonio through Scarperia/Palagio, before Quartararo snatched fourth spot back from Aleix Espargaro on Lap 2 after the Aprilia rider had made a bold move down the hill on the opening lap. Quartararo was third when he slipped by Di Giannantonio at Scarperia/Palagio on lap two, but he had a serious challenge on his hands to try and keep the Ducatis at bay given the power they had on tap up the main straight.
A new Ducati threat then emerged when Bagnaia, who had been shuffled back to ninth on the opening lap, got through on Aleix Espargaro for fifth on lap four. However, Quartararo was also on the march as he slipped past Marini later on that same lap, promoting ‘El Diablo’ to second.
Bagnaia slipstreamed past Di Giannantonio as lap four became lap five, and then pulled off a big move the next time he charged up the hill towards San Donato, passing both Quartararo and Marini to move into second. ‘Pecco’ was in the lead after he overtook Bezzecchi at the start of lap nine, while Quartararo relied on superior turning to pass the VR46 Ducati rider at Scarperia, on lap 11. The stage was set and so began the see saw at the front. 1.2, 1 second, 1.1, 0.9… the two pounded on at the front.
Meanwhile, Di Giannantonio’s charge began to fade and Aleix Espargaro again found himself in the top five, just behind a battle between VR46 teammates Bezzecchi and Marini. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) caught that bunch around 13 laps in, but the former was then out of the race when he tucked the front through Materassi, on lap 14. Rider ok, standings taking a dent.
Aleix Espargaro finally got back through to fourth as he went down the inside of Marini on lap 14 at Correntaio, and Zarco relegated #10 to sixth position at the start of lap 17. Then, Aprilia’s ‘Captain’ got ahead of the next impressive VR46 hurdle with a pass of Bezzecchi at Scarperia on lap 17.
While that was elbows out, Quartararo was starting to make inroads on Bagnaia’s margin. ‘El Diablo’ brought the gap back under a second with around half a dozen laps to go and was able to keep it there, but then the Ducati rider was able to respond. It was back out to 1.1 with a lap to go, and by the time he crossed the line for an emotional win, it was just over half a second. And those 25 points put Pecco fourth, 41 points off Quartararo.
Aleix Espargaro, meanwhile, finished just under two seconds further back, while Zarco passed Bezzechi on the final lap to claim fourth. Marini made it VR46 bikes fifth and sixth, while Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) proved once again that he is the ‘Sunday man’ by climbing from 16th on the grid to seventh all-told, and only a couple of tenths off the VR46 battle.
Rounding out the top 10 were Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), and – in his last race before surgery on his right arm – Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).
It took a video review to decide 11th position, in favor of Di Giannantonio, after he and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) had initially posted identical race times. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) finished 13th, Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) took 14th, and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) scored the last World Championship point in 15th. The non-finishers in addition to Bastianini were Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), who crashed out on Lap 5, and Team Suzuki Ecstar duo Joan Mir and Alex Rins, who both went down in separate incidents on lap eight. Rins’ crash was after contact with Nakagami, but the incident was reviewed and no action was taken.
In the World Championship, Quartararo’s lead over Aleix Espargaro has crept up to eight points, while Bastianini is now 28 points off the pace in third spot.
Moto2
Cometh the hour cometh the teenager. It’s taken eight rounds but the real Pedro Acosta has finally stood up, the Spanish teenage sensation putting on a masterclass at Mugello for his first win in the intermediate category.
The 2021 Moto3 World Champion had just celebrated his 18th birthday and led almost all of the 21 laps around Mugello, achieving redemption after crashing out of first position at Le Mans.
American Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) had a brilliant ride in second and Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) moved into a share of the World Championship lead by also getting onto the podium, after a late technical failure for Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) while the Italian held third position. Pole-sitter Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) was running second to Acosta when he crashed not long past the halfway mark.
Cameron Beaubier (American Racing Team) and his teammate Sean Dylan Kelly finished seventh and 23rd, respectively.
Vietti and Ogura are tied on 108 at the top and Canet is 89 points.
Moto3
Championship leader Sergio Garcia has been declared the race winner at Mugello after fellow Valresa GasGas Aspar Team Izan Guevara was penalized just after the finish. Guevara had beaten Garcia to the flag by 0.021 seconds, and Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) by another 0.012 seconds, but was issued a position drop for exceeding track limits.
Dennis Foggia looked strong on the other Leopard Racing Honda until he crashed out of the lead on lap 11, the same lap pole-sitter Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) fell into the gravel as a result of contact with Suzuki. Title contender Jaume Masia failed to make the points after a poor start to the race and then contact with Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) later on.
Garcia leads the series 137 points from Guevara on 109 and Masia on 95. CN
2022 MotoGP Championship
Round 8
Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley
Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
Results (May 29, 2022)
MotoGP
1. |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
2. |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
3. |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
4. |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
5. |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Duc) |
6. |
Luca Marini |
(Duc) |
7. |
Brad Binder |
(KTM) |
8. |
Takaaki Nakagami |
(Hon) |
9. |
Miguel Oliveira |
(KTM) |
10. |
Marc Marquez |
(Hon) |
MotoGP Point Standings
1. |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
122 |
2. |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
114 |
3 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Duc) |
94 |
4. |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
81 |
5. |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
75 |
6. |
Alex Rins |
(Suz) |
69 |
7. |
Brand Binder |
(KTM) |
65 |
8. |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
63 |
9. |
Marc Marquez |
(Hon) |
60 |
10. |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
56 |
Moto2
1. |
Pedro Acosta |
(Kal) |
2. |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal |
3. |
Ai Ogura |
(Kal) |
4. |
Tony Arbolino |
(Kal) |
5. |
Augusto Fernandez |
(Kal) |
Moto3
1. |
Sergio Garcia |
(GG) |
2. |
Izan Guevara |
(GG) |
3. |
Tatsuki Suzuki |
(Hon) |
4. |
Andrea Migno |
(Honda) |
5. |
Ryusei Yamanaka |
(KTM) |
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