2021 MotoGP Round Six Mugello

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Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is the man to beat after Day 1 of the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, the Italian just pipping Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to the top by 0.071 by the end of play.

Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) continued impressing to lock out the top three and end Friday as the top Independent Team rider, with a sunny day’s work at the stunning Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello welcoming MotoGP back to Italy.

Quartararo had some tyres issues in FP1 but bounced up to P4 in FP2 while Red Bull KTM men Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira enjoy a new chassis to make big leaps up the order.

Nakagami is lead Honda in P7 while Marc Marquez was frank with just how demanding he is finding Mugello. The eight-time World Champion concentrated on egonomic changes to try and make him more comfortable on the bike. He was not that far off the pace on Friday but made it clear that race pace will be more challenging.

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Friday Rider Quotes

Francesco Bagnaia – P1

“I’m delighted with this first day at Mugello! Compared to previous GPs, here I have felt much more comfortable right from the start! We did a great job on the setup of the Desmosedici, which allowed me to immediately find the feeling with the bike and set my best time ever on this track! The Italian GP is our home race, and it was crucial to get a good start. Tomorrow, after the time-attack in FP3, we’ll also have the FP4 session available to confirm some choices and, if we continue in this direction, I’m sure that we can fight for the top positions in the race”.

Alex Rins – P2

“Today was a good and productive day in the office! From FP1 I tried to find the flow needed to get the most out of Mugello. I managed to get that feeling quickly and I felt strong when trying different tyre options. I was able to set good lap times in both sessions, especially in FP2, but we will continue to work because it’s sure to be a close race. We’ve made some improvements in terms of electronics and so far the bike feels good and we feel pretty confident about the coming days.”

Franco Morbidelli – P3

“First of all it feels great to be back in Mugello. This track is unique and it is such a huge pleasure to be riding on it again, you always forget how nice it is and it feels even better to be fast here. I was able to do some good laps on used tyres and we were able to understand some more things with the bike. I was also able to do a good lap on the soft tyre and be in the top three. We still need to figure out which tyre we will use in the race, but we have been looking at all the tiny details of the bike and I’ve been giving my maximum when I ride; I think with this combination we can do well. This home GP has a different feel and there is extra motivation to do well, although it is a big pity that there isn’t going to be a big crowd on the hill this weekend.”

Fabio Quartararo – P4

“Honestly, I had a bad feeling in the morning with the rear tyre. But this afternoon, with the same compound, I made great laps with great consistency. My second run was really good. I was doing 1’47-low on five laps. Our pace is looking really good, and I’m feeling comfortable. We still have some little things to improve. Things like tweaking the electronics and my riding rather than the setting of the bike. Overall, I’m feeling good, and I think we have great potential at this track. I made a good lap in FP2, but I honestly don’t know how, because there were so many riders cruising in sector 1, 3, and 4.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P7

“So, in FP2 I was able to follow behind Bagnaia, he was P1 , it was a good distance to be and helped us understand our potential. It was very interesting and I’m happy about our pace as we did many laps in the low 47s which is pretty good. Of course, we need to improve in some areas, especially sector 2, as we didn’t have the best performance there and some corners I was not in a good shape. So, we’ll try to improve there and prepare for FP3 as we have the potential to fight at the front. I’m confident for tomorrow and let’s see what FP3 brings.” 

Maverick Vinales – P8

“I felt good straight away in FP1. I just felt really good on the track. I was feeling on point both in the morning and in the afternoon. I think tomorrow we will make a big jump in terms of lap time, because today we didn’t do a good time attack. It wasn’t good at all, so for sure we can be faster. But, anyway, what’s most important is our rhythm, and we are building up the confidence step by step, like in Le Mans, where I felt really good on the first laps of the race. I feel like I had the potential to win there, had it stayed dry. We need to keep going forwards.”

Aleix Espargaro – P9

“I am satisfied with the way the RS-GP is performing in Mugello. It is definitely an important test bench for our project, which is consistently proving to be competitive. I have never been this fast on this track. I am truly very happy. I had some problems with my right arm which I had surgery on recently. I knew that this would be a demanding track and having the operation was undoubtedly the right decision. We’ll be managing the issue over the coming days, but I don’t think it will be a limitation.”

Jack Miller – P10

“It’s really nice to finally be back on track at Mugello, a truly fantastic track! Today, we focused mainly on understanding how the three different tyres we have for the race work. We valued the characteristic of each option, also finding the modifications that we need to do on the bike’s setup.  Tomorrow in the FP3, I will try my real time attack with the soft tyre to secure a spot directly in Q2. All in all, I’m delighted with this first day here”.

Johann Zarco – P11

“I am very happy with this morning’s session; however, I am a bit disappointed to not have been able to lower the lap times in the afternoon. I will take this as a challenge to improve tomorrow morning. I need to be able to make the most out of the bike’s potential because on this track, it is extremely fast. If I can find the right solution, it will help me for the rest of the season.”

Joan Mir – P12

“This track is really special; high speed, hard braking, and fast corners. My feelings are good, and the bike has nice potential here. I feel like I could’ve finished a bit higher today because I had a few small issues with my setup, and I felt like I was fighting against the bike a bit, I wasn’t flowing and smooth. I also lost some laps at the end of FP2 which was a bit frustrating. Tomorrow I’ll try to find a better flow and see what I can do, but overall it’s been a good day.”

Marc Marquez – P13

“We did not change the setting of the bike a lot today, we worked more on small things and the position of the bike to help my riding. We need to be patient; I am not riding like I want to be riding and we could understand our limitations quite quickly. I knew it would be a hard weekend before we started. Tomorrow we will see the situation but for the moment we are focusing on ourselves, doing our laps and working on what we need to do. At the end of FP2 we did a bit of a time attack and were able to improve our position a bit.”

Pol Espargaro – P14

“Today we were working a lot to improve the grip, we are struggling on corner entry – not on the brakes but on the last part where you release and turn the bike. Also with a lot of lean we are looking for something more. Under braking, the first corner and the first sector I feel good, even if our fastest lap didn’t show it. We need to clarify some things for tomorrow and try what’s possible. A night for the brain to process everything will help a lot after not coming here last year. Tomorrow we will come back with fresh ideas and more energy.”

Michele Pirro – P15

“I am happy, it has been a good first day. We need to work to improve a few things if we want to take a step forwards tomorrow, but regardless I am truly satisfied.”

Danilo Petrucci – P16

“It’s always a very nice feeling to ride a bike at this track. We did some good progress, but we are still working to find a decent setup. I have the feeling, we already found something good, but we still miss some speed. We will see tomorrow. At least today, we have a clear situation of what we need. The gap to the front is still not as we want. But we have some ideas for tomorrow and we’ll hopefully manage to do a good Qualifying.”

 Luca Marini – P17

“An overall positive first day: we worked well even though I was hoping to be further ahead in qualifying. Everyone was really strong; the tires allow you to push hard and I’m sure we’ll be under the track record tomorrow. To be one second behind the first is not bad at all, a pity because on the last attempt nobody wanted to push, and I was in front of everyone. A good step forward also in the set-up, so we will focus on the data to be even closer tomorrow.”

Álex Márquez – P18

“It’s the first day at Mugello and first time here on a MotoGP bike. It’s a long track, a tricky track and was difficult at the beginning. We made a good step from the morning to the afternoon, but there are still many things to improve. We are only 1.1 seconds behind the top rider, so everything is so close and tomorrow we need to keep pushing and making steps. It’s a weekend where we need to make constant progress, so this afternoon I will try to analyse everything to try to improve everywhere or identify which points we need to improve most. Tomorrow from the morning we need to be more competitive and show the intensity we did today in the afternoon.” 

Enea Bastianini –  P19

“It’s been a bit of a difficult day to tell the truth. This morning I felt pretty good. This afternoon I tried to keep working and improve, but I didn’t feel very good. It was a bit unexpected because we thought we would be better, but it was a set-up problem. By the time we realised the problem it was a bit late and I managed to do only two laps. The important thing is that I improved and we know the direction to work in. Tomorrow I hope to do a good FP3 and try to get a position for Q2.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P20

“Turning laps at Mugello with a MotoGP bike is incredible. Not only because of the speed, which is extremely high on the straight, but also because of the way you tackle the braking sections. Personally, I am happy with the way it went. Of course, the right moment to try for good times will be tomorrow morning, but I’m not far from the best. This is also taking into consideration that I made a mistake on the last turn during my attempt with a new tyre, losing a lot of time. I feel like we can improve a bit coming out of turns, but the bike is working extremely well and it is improving constantly.”

Valentino Rossi – P21

“It was a difficult day, especially in the afternoon. First of all we tried the hard tyres, but that was not the right choice so my pace wasn’t the best. At the end I did one lap with the soft tyre and I improved my lap time, but it is not a good position. I had some problems when trying to stop the bike; I was not the quickest when changing direction and I made some mistakes, so tomorrow we need to try something different. We tried the new front start device today too and, although the feeling wasn’t perfect, it looks alright for a first test of it. We’ll now look at changing the setting of the bike to improve the balance and hopefully be stronger tomorrow.”

Iker Lecuona – P22

“I struggled quite a lot today. First of all, it was my debut with the MotoGP bike here, but I also don’t have very much experience at this track at all and as it is quite technical, I needed many laps to understand. In FP1, I was pretty lost, took the wrong lines, so I had to improve a lot in FP2. I learned quite well and went way quicker. My fastest lap time was cancelled because I missed the track limits. I don’t know exactly where, but it was still ok. We are still far from the top, so I’m not really happy. When I went out alone, I couldn’t go faster, so we’ve got quite some things to do for tomorrow.”

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FP1

The first man at the top was Ducati test rider and, this weekend, Pramac Racing replacement rider Michele Pirro as the Italian was fastest out the box. From there though, Yamaha started to put the hammer down as Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and teammate Fabio Quartararo traded fast laps, pretty close together on track to boot. A new front start device was also spotted on Iwata marque machinery Day 1.

Alex Rins enjoyed a brief stint at the top before Viñales then hit back, the number 12 eventually ending FP1 two tenths clear of Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing). Rins was third ahead of teammate and reigning Champion Joan Mir, with Morbidelli 0.008 further back and Bagnaia only a further 0.002 in arrears.

No one crashed in the session, but Rins did have a run off at Arrabbiata 1, getting straight back onto the track.

FP2

In the afternoon, KTM stole a few headlines. A new chassis first spotted by pitlane reporter Simon Crafar at the Jerez Test was spotted again as the day began, and FP2 saw a show of serious form from the Austrian factory. Bagnaia was fastest first for Ducati, but the Italian was soon deposed by Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) hit the top next before Oliveira returned the favour, the Portuguese rider then beating his own best to stay fastest a lap later. And there he stayed for more than half an hour, before the final push – with an eye on Q2 – got underway.

That’s when Rins struck to lead the way, but Bagnaia hit back on his last lap of the day to go fastest by less than a tenth. Morbidelli slotted into third, with Quartararo making his way back up to fourth. Binder had one of his best efforts scrubbed for track limits, but the South African was able to get the job done on take two to complete the top five – just pipping his teammate by the flag as the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing form held firm in the face of a concerted onslaught from the rest, taking fifth and sixth.

Once again, no one crashed in the session, although Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) had an excursion at Turn 1, the ‘Doctor’ able to rejoin.

Friday Combined

The majority improved in the afternoon, with the top seven in FP2 – Bagnaia, Rins, Morbidelli, Quartararo, Binder, Oliveira and, in seventh, top Honda Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) – the top seven overall. Eighth place on the combined times is FP1’s fastest man Maverick Viñales, with the Spaniard’s best in the morning his best overall and absolutely identical to that of Nakagami in FP2.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) ends Day 1 in ninth place, with Jerez and Le Mans winner Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) down in tenth and the second Ducati on the timesheets at a venue many would consider to be increasingly their turf. Miller voiced some frustrations over traffic in FP2 however, something that could mean there’s a fair bit more to come in FP3.

Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) is the first looking to reiterate Ducati’s recent dominance in Mugello and move up the timesheets in FP3 as he finds himself a tenth outside the Q2 graduation zone on Friday, and by only a tenth. He was the second rider to not improve in the afternoon, along with Viñales.

Reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ends the day down in P12, just ahead of returning eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) as the latter takes on one of the fastest and most physical challenges of the season. They’ll want to put in a push in FP3, as will Valentino Rossi after a tough day on the timesheets for the ‘Doctor’ down in P21.

MotoGP Friday Combined Times

MotoGP Championship top five

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Moto2

Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) was top of the pile on Friday at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, the Brit pulling 0.184 clear of rookie sensation Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to once again prove the man to beat on Day 1. Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) completed the top three, 0.308 off the top.

FP1

Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) ruled the morning session, the American striking late to take over at the top by just over two tenths. Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) slotted into second, the Australian also enjoying some close company from Sam Lowes as the Brit was just 0.020 back.

Raul Fernandez, despite having only ridden round Mugello in the World Championship as a Moto3 rookie, left no doubt he’d once again be a threat near the front as he started off his weekend in fourth too, just ahead of fellow Moto2 rookie Tony Arbolino (Liqui Moly Intact GP) as the 2019 Moto3 winner completed the top five.

There was one faller in the morning, wildcard Tommaso Marcon (MV Agusta Forward Racing), as he took a tumble at Scarperia aka Turn 10.

FP2

The afternoon was when Lowes hit back to take over. Raul Fernandez ruled for most of the session but the Brit pulled a fast one on his 13th and 17th laps to take over at the top and beat his own best, respectively. Raul Fernandez was forced to settle for second, with Navarro going from P20 in FP1 to complete the top three in the afternoon and overall. Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) was fourth in FP2, with Arbolino completing the top five with more good speed.

Roberts went from quickest in FP1 to first crasher of the session in FP2, but rider ok, with Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) also taking tumbles, riders ok.

Friday Combined

Overall it’s the FP2 top three who reign: Lowes, Raul Fernandez and Navarro. Roberts’ best from FP1 puts the American into fourth on the combined timesheets though, relegating Bezzecchi to fifth. Arbolino is sixth.

Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ends the day in P7 thanks to his FP1 best, with the Australian also fluffing a faster effort in the afternoon that says there’s likely more to come. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) slots into P8 ahead of Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing), with Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) completing the top ten courtesy of his FP1 best.

Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP), Aron Canet (Kipin Energy Aspar Team), Somkiat Chantra and Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) are the last set to move through to Q1 as it stands, although FP3 gives the grid another shot at the top.

Moto2 Friday Combined Times

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Moto2 Championship top five

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Moto3

Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) leads the way after Friday at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, the South African timing it to perfection to slipstream to the line and end the day two tenths clear at the top. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) slotted into second even later in FP2, with John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completing the top three overall on Friday.

Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ended the day in P16, the rookie getting his first taste of Mugello on Moto3 machinery this weekend.

FP1

Under the Tuscan sun of the Mugello morning it was Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) moving the goalposts furthest mid-session, but 2014 winner Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) was flexing his pace with a consistent run of speed in the latter stages of FP1. Compatriot and 2017 Mugello winner Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) hit back though, nearly half a second clear by the end of the session. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jaume Masia took third, a tenth and a half off Fenati.

Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3) was another two tenths down in fourth, but it tightened up just behind the number 23. Binder was within 0.014 of the Italian and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) within 0.015 of the South African, which is no mean feat from the Turk as he rides at the track for the first time in the Moto3 World Championship.

FP2

The afternoon was when Binder took over on top, the South African tucking in behind Andrea Migno to set his fastest effort, completing a consistent day of speed in Italy from the number 40. Foggia and McPhee struck late in the rush to complete the top three, with Fenati taking fourth and Rodrigo completing the top five in the session with more good speed.

In the afternoon, and with no one having crashed in FP1, Championship leader Acosta took the dubious honour of the only crasher of the day, but the rookie sensation was up and ok; more focused on a solid step forward made in the afternoon despite a more difficult FP1.

Friday Combined

Everyone improved in the afternoon, so the FP2 timesheets and the combined timesheets are one and the same. That leaves Binder leading the way from Foggia, McPhee, Fenati and Rodrigo.

Tatsuki Suzuki (SCI58 Squadra Corse) is sixth overall after a P12 in FP1, with the top ten on the combined times completed by Öncü, Antonelli, Migno and Masia.

Riccardo Rossi (BOE Owlride) ends the day in a solid P11 fresh from his first podium, with 2019 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Mugello race winner Carlos Tatay (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3) in P12 on his first race weekend in Moto3 at the track. Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) and Jason Dupasquier (CarXpert PrüstelGP) are the last two currently on for a place in Q2, with Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) pipped to it by just 0.017 in fifteenth. The Japanese rider is on a consistent run on race day and is the first name looking to move forward in FP3.

The second, who was also second to Tatay in that Rookies race at the venue in 2019, is rookie Pedro Acosta. The Championship leader, Sasaki, Le Mans winner Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) and French GP first time podium finisher Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team) are just some of those looking to move up on Saturday morning.

Moto3 Friday Combined Times

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Moto3 Championship top five

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Source: MCNews.com.au