Race report
After the first weekend of the season in Portugal and the weekend of the Italian GP at Mugello, Francis Bagnaia he takes victory in the Sprint and in the long race also in the Austrian Grand Prix, thus completing a perfect weekend for him and for Ducati and at the same time increasing his lead in the riders’ standings. Numerous episodes in common between yesterday’s Sprint starts and today’s, starting with the excellent start of the reigning world champion, followed again by Brad Binder, up to the colorless start of Maverick Viñales, still struggling with problems turning on the green light. Unlike the test of twenty-four hours ago, fortunately, there were no contacts and crashes, with Jack Miller 3rd on the other KTM in the first laps but subsequently even collapsed out of the top-10, with third place conquered by an excellent Alex Marquez. The Spaniard, in turn closely followed by the two VR46s from Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini, withstood the constant attacks of the #72 up to six laps from the end, thus handing the podium to the driver from Rimini, who thus redeems yesterday’s crash in the first lap by returning to the top-3 after the Silverstone Sprint. For Valentino Rossi’s team there is also the satisfaction of Marini’s 4th place, able to overtake Marquez in the closing stages of the race. Different story for the noble area of the classification, with Bagnaia who crosses the finish line first after a dominated race and with a 5 second advantage over Binder, once again 2nd.
1st, Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati
“I honestly expected a stronger pace, but the conditions were much more difficult for everyone. I was starting to struggle a bit on the front, but then I figured out how to improve the lap time and we managed everything perfectly. As a result, I’m very happy because we showed our potential this weekend and I’m happy. Thank you all, you are always very kind to me and I thank you”.
2nd, Brad Binder – KTM
“I already knew from yesterday that we were lacking enough in terms of traction, I tried to push, attack and brake hard. I tried to keep Pecco’s pace as much as possible in the first part of the race, but at a certain point the rear grip said ‘hello’ and so I had to use my head to be able to bring the bike to the finish line. The team’s work between yesterday and today was extraordinary, I was able to brake much further and harder, but we still have something to do on grip and traction, but it’s very nice to get another podium here in the home race of the team. KTM”.
3rd, Marco Bezzecchi – Mooney VR46 (Ducati)
“I feel great, because yesterday with the accident at the start I was very sad because I was sure I could have a good race. I was very motivated for today, the team has done something incredible and it’s a fantastic day also for Vietti’s victory in Moto2 and with the podium for the Academy. I want to thank the team, Valentino, everyone who supports me and my family.”
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