MotoGP in Mugello

02.06.2024
Sprint

Francesco Bagnaia and the Ducati Lenovo Team have come out victorios in the sprint race of the Brembo Italian Grand Prix, with the reigning world championship leading from start to finish aboard his Desmosedici GP #1. Enea Bastianini crashed out of the encounter on lap three after a coming together at turn one with Jorge Martín.

Bagnaia enjoyed the perfect start from second place on the grid and took the lead entering third one. Pecco dictated the pace for all the 11 laps and managed to create a small margin over his nearest opponents at halfway point that allowed him to cross the line a lonely winner despite the attempts to bridge the gap by Marc Marquéz in the closing laps. With his first sprint race win this year (the previous one dates back to August 19th, 2023, at the Austrian GP) and today’s crash by championship leader Martín, Bagnaia is now 27 points shy of first place in the standings.

Following an excellent start that saw him move up to second place from sixth on the grid, Bastianini suffered a crash after a coming together with Jorge Martín at the start of lap three. Their racing lines crossed following an overtaking manoeuvre by Enea on his opponent.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action tomorrow for the final day at the Mugello International Circuit, with the 23-lap, seventh race of the season that will get underway at 14:00 local time (GMT +2) following the 9:40, traditional warm up session. Due to a three-position penalty received, Bagnaia will start the encounter from fifth place on the grid.

Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“I’ve very happy because after the Barcelona race, in which we missed out on the win at the last lap, we managed to do it here and, above all, we made it to the finish line. I felt really good with the bike from the get-go, and I tried to be as consistent as possible, but it wasn’t easy as there was an unexpected grip drop at the front-end. Let’s see what we’ll be able to do for tomorrow: it’s going to be a very different race also because we’ll be starting from row two: still, we have the potential to do well.”

Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – DNF
“I was having a good race. When I saw that Jorge (Martín) was riding a bit on the limit, I tried to overtake him and we went a bit wide, then he dove in and that’s when the coming together took place. Unfortunately, the race ended too soon and it’s a shame because we had what it takes to do well. I think the incident could have been avoided, but what matters is that we focus on tomorrow knowing we have the pace to do well. We have everything we need but so far we haven’t been able to capitalise as much as we could have, so let’s hope the momentum will swing in our direction.”

Race

The Ducati Lenovo Team has celebrated in the best possible way the Brembo Italian Grand Prix at the Mugello International Circuit by taking the race win with Francesco Bagnaia and the second place with Enea Bastianini. Both riders, ahead of the home crowd, put together scintillating performances aboard their respective Desmosedici GP sporting a special livery dedicated to Italy’s national team.

Bagnaia’s start from fifth place on the grid was a perfect one, with the reigning world champion who was already in the lead after the first two corners. Pecco managed the race in the best possible way as he rewrote the race lap record twice and pulled away from competition in the final two laps, crossing the finish line eight tenths ahead of his teammate. Bagnaia scored full points (37) for the first time since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix and made it three consecutive wins at Mugello on Sunday (he is the first rider able to do so at the Italian venue since 2012).

Bastianini also had an excellent start to the encounter and stayed in contention for a podium finish throughout the whole race. With three laps left, Enea managed to move past Marc Márquez for third, before giving chase to Jorge Martín. Despite the little time left, the Ducati rider #23 managed to quickly bridge the gap to the opponent, ultimately overtaking him at the last corner and storming his way to second place at the chequered flag.

With the seventh Grand Prix of the season in the books, Bagnaia is now 18 points behind leader Martín in second place, with Bastianini fourth and 57 points shy of the top. The Ducati Lenovo Team leads the team standings with 267 points, with Ducati on top of the manufacturers’ standings (241 points).

After tomorrow’s official test here at Mugello, the riders of Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action – following a three-week break – at Assen’s TT Circuit, for the eighth event of the season (June 28-30).

Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“It was an incredible race. It wasn’t easy as I was fifth on the grid, but the strategy of going for the outside line worked out perfectly, also due to Maverick (Viñales) running a little wide. I started dictating the pace from the get-go, but it was hard to manage the rear-end of the bike as the bike was moving a lot at the front, meaning I could only be effective for a couple of laps each time. In the end we were able to get the win in what was a fantastic weekend, with an incredible atmosphere coming from the crowd I love. To witness the sea of people below the podium was crazy. I’m also happy for Enea and for the great race he had. Thank you Mugello, you all were fantastic.”

Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd
“This podium finish in front of our home crowd was incredible. Something hadn’t been working right in recent times, but we fixed the issues and today, we really pushed to the limit. I’m very happy: I had a little bit of a slip in terms of form in the middle of the race, but after being overtaken by Marc (Márquez) I realised the time had come to start pushing. During the final lap I saw that Jorge (Martín) was getting closer and closer and there I understood that second place was really possible. I managed to do so at the final corner and I’m very happy. I’d like to dedicate this win to my dog, who passed away last week. In a manner of speaking, she was my baby!”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“We witnessed an incredible race by both riders. Pecco was simply perfect in what from outside may have looked like a simple race, but I guarantee you that given the pace and the opponents, it was anything but. It was important for him to have a weekend with no setbacks and that’s what happened; he showed once again why he’s a two-time reigning world champion. Enea gave us goosebumps on the last lap and when he crossed the line in second place, the reaction in the box was indescribable. Great job to both, they’re great champions and they deserve all the love by the home crowd.”

Race results

Pos.	Nr.	Driver	Team	Bike	Time
1	1	F. Bagnaia			40:51.385
2	23	E. Bastianini			+0.799
3	89	J. Martin			+0.924
4	93	M. Marquez			+2.064
5	31	P. Acosta			+7.501
6	21	F. Morbidelli			+9.890
7	49	F. Di Giannantonio			+10.076
8	12	M. Viñales			+11.683
9	73	A. Marquez			+13.535
10	33	B. Binder			+15.901
11	41	A. Espargaro			+19.182
12	25	R. Fernandez			+20.307
13	72	M. Bezzecchi			+20.346
14	88	M. Oliveira			+23.292
15	42	A. Rins			+23.613
16	43	J. Miller			+28.417
17	44	P. Espargaro			+28.778
18	20	F. Quartararo			+30.622
19	5	J. Zarco			+31.457
20	10	L. Marini			+32.310
21	32	L. Savadori			+46.724
DNF	30	T. Nakagami
DNF	36	J. Mir
DNF	37	A. Fernandez

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