Pecco Bagnaia was the absolute ruler of the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix. After taking home the pole position, the Mugello track record and the Sprint, the Ducati rider also hit the big target, also taking victory in the long Sunday race.
For the world champion it is the 14th success in his career and the third of the season after those of Portimao and Jerez. Also counting the three victories in the Sprints, the Piedmontese took home 50% of the races held in this first remnant of the 2023 season.
Today’s race was the worthy conclusion of a weekend as an absolute protagonist. Started well from pole, he withstood Jack Miller’s attack at San Donato and then led from start to finish. Only in the first half of the race did Jorge Martin try to stay glued to his Desmosedici GP, but the choice of the soft tire paid off at a distance, so in the end Pecco arrived under the checkered flag with a margin of about one second over the Spaniard .
With this triumph, Bagnaia has equaled the number of Ducati successes of Andrea Dovizioso (who still precedes him by one in all-time successes), but above all he has increased his margin over his direct rival in the World Championship to 21 points, which is a Marco Bezzecchi who experienced a somewhat shady day today, finishing only eighth after yesterday’s second place in the Sprint. He then kept an eye on Martin, now third, three points behind the Mooney VR46 rider.
Behind the first two, the battle for third position was very heated, which included a quartet which included the two Marquez brothers, Luca Marini and Johann Zarco. The first to say goodbye to the competition was the eight-time world champion, who went wide at Bucine and then slipped in an attempt to get back on line. Then it was his brother Alex’s turn, who crashed at Luco-Poggio Secco on lap 14 when he was third.
The final battle was therefore between Zarco and Marini, and it was the Frenchman who came out on top, giving Prima Pramac Racing a double podium on the day when it showed off the fairings dedicated to Dante Alighieri. After an exchange of trajectories at Bucine and San Donato, Johann found the decisive overtaking on lap 18 at Luco-Poggio Secco. However, the driver of the Mooney VR46 deserves applause, because he ran undercover with a sore hand, but he didn’t show it at all.
The Ducatis, therefore, monopolized the first four positions once again today and the palm of first of the “others”, but at more than 4″, went to Brad Binder: the KTM rider thus consolidated his fourth place in the World Championship, but he is now 39 points behind Bagnaia.Behind him, Aleix Espargaro was also stoic, sixth on his Aprilia despite a sore foot to say the least due to a heel injury sustained by falling off his bike on Thursday.
The Spaniard got the upper hand in the duel with Jack Miller, who after a great start gradually lost positions, especially in a very tense moment when at San Donato there was a fairly aggressive entry by Alex Marquez who had led him wide .
Speaking of Bezzecchi’s eighth place, who even lost a position on the grid, behind him the top 10 is completed by the Italian tandem made up of Enea Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli. The Ducati rider was good at gritting his teeth on his return after the scapula injury that had kept him sidelined for two and a half months (except for the unsuccessful return attempt at Jerez), bringing home other valuable points and morale. Just like the result of the Yamaha rider, who got the better of his teammate Fabio Quartararo, decidedly disappointing on a track that only two years ago had seen him dominate far and wide.
Also due to the absences of Alex Rins and Joan Mir due to injury, the only Honda at the finish line was that of Takaaki Nakagami, 13th. Fabio Di Giannantonio also brought home two small points, 14th, while test drivers Michele Pirro and Lorenzo Savadori finished later.
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