-Enea Bastianini grabs second on the last lap
-Jorge Martin finishes third
Ducati Lenovo Factory Team rider Pecco Bagnaia was the master of the Mugello Circuit on Sunday as he won the main race in a dominant fashion. He was unchallenged from start to finish and showed incredible race craft towards the last part of the race.
Boss Bagnaia
As the lights went out, Bagnaia got a good start from the second row of the grid. While the field moved to the right of the circuit while braking into Turn One, Bagnaia positioned his Ducati to the left and overtook a couple of riders by going around them. He got a good exit and lined up to make a move on the inside of Pole sitter Jorge Martin while entering Turn Two. He executed the move perfectly and grabbed P1, leaving the Italian fans rejoicing as they watched their home hero stretch his lead.
Bagnaia then, as he so often does, began controlling the race pace from the front. He was mindful of not overcooking his rear tyre but at the same time kept Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin at bay. During the closing stages, Martin came pretty close to Bagnaia, chopping the gap to under 0.3 seconds. Bagnaia, however, had something in reserve and managed to open the gap in the last two laps, denying Martin a chance to fight for victory.
Beast mode on
Enea ‘The Beast’ Bastianini brought double delight for the home crowd by finishing the race in P2. Bastianini was engaged in quite a battle with Gresini Racing’s Marc Marquez who at one point was sitting pretty on third behind Martin. In the last few laps, however, Bastianini made a daring move on the inside to snatch P3 from Marquez.
He soon began catching Jorge Martin who by this point had no response to Bagnaia’s race pace. Bastianini was right up on Martin’s tail on the last lap and as the pair entered the final corner, Bastianini swooped on the inside of Martin and took P2 from him.
The sight of seeing the two factory Ducati bikes finishing P1 and P2, ridden by Italian riders on their home soil was sight to behold. The circuit was swarmed by fans after the race as they stood under the podium and cheered their home heroes.
The Championship is wide open
Jorge Martin leads the 2024 MotoGP World Championship with 171 points, followed by Pecco Baganaia who has 153 points in the bag. Marc Marquez is third with 136 points.
The next round will be held from 28 June to 30 June at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands.
