There was something special in the air at Mugello for the Italian riders. Marco Bezzecchi, Franco Morbidelli, Enea Bastianini and Francesco Bagnaia all secured a direct pass to Q2. But ahead of them all was Fabio Di Giannantonio, who topped the timing sheets during both of the day’s sessions.
There were also some familiar faces returning to the paddock. Marc Márquez was back for the first time since his crash in the French Sprint. Michele Pirro was standing in for Álex Márquez at Gresini. Cal Crutchlow was back for the first time in three years to stand in for Johann Zarco at Honda LCR.
Free Practice 1
It was a damp start to the day in Mugello. As the MotoGP riders took to the track for FP1, the skies began to brighten up. Jorge Martín was the first to hit the top of the times, setting a 1:51.695. This was soon beaten in a quick flurry of riders crossing the line. Francesco Bagnaia, Diogo Moreira, Marco Bezzecchi, Pedro Acosta, Brad Binder initially knocked Martín down the order. Then Fabio Di Giannantonio and Jack Miller both jumped ahead too, with Luca Marini pushing Martín to ninth. After the first 10 minutes, it was Bezzecchi who was firmly in front, having set a 1:47.438.
It was now that Marc Márquez made his first appearance since Le Mans, ready to see how he could handle the Ducati. Bagniaia went back to the top of the table with a 1:46.971, only to be beaten by a 1:46.916 from Fermín Aldeguer. As if things weren’t heating up enough already, Pedro Acosta stuck in a 1:46.794 on a new medium rear tyre.
With three and a half minutes remaining, Italian hearts sank as Bagnaia went down in Turn 1. However, just seconds later the mood was lifted. Di Giannantonio was now sitting pretty at the top of the timings with a 1:46.242. Martín finished second fastest, followed by Ai Ogura, Maverick Viñales and Jack Miller rounding out the top five. At the end of the session, Marc Márquez found himself 1.177 seconds off the pace, finishing in 15th. Considering this was his first push since sustaining his injury, it wasn’t a terrible result overall. Better yet, he was declared fit for the remainder of the weekend.
Practice
Di Giannantonio wasted no time in setting the early pace, smashing in a 1:45.746 and delighting the home crowd. Bagnaia was also on a charge, and set a 1:45.697 on the following lap. Ai Ogura then set a superb time of 1:45.667 as the session neared the halfway mark.
Just a few minutes later, the red flags were waved as Fabio Quartararo crashed at Turn 4. Whilst it was just a simple low-side, there was a slight moment of worry as the Yamaha spun and gave the Frenchman a tap with the rear end.
The session resumed with just over 30 minutes left on the clock. Within minutes of the restart, Jack Miller crashed at Turn 1, but was quickly back on his feet.
12 minutes to go, and it was Bezzecchi leading with a 1:45.024. There were plenty of riders on push laps, including Márquez and Bagnaia. However, their attempts to better their times were scuppered as Brad Binder parked his KTM on the main straight. The bike had suffered a technical issue, and the positioning meant that the red flags were out once more. Things got going again with 11 minutes remaining in the session.
As the clock ticked down to the final five minutes, the crowd erupted. Di Giannantonio had raised the bar with a 1:44.959. Whilst it was currently an all-Ducati top four, the Italian magic wasn’t over yet. With just two minutes to go, Enea Bastianini came from nowhere to move into third with a 1:44.911. There was a bit of off-roading for Pedro Acosta on his final flying lap. The KTM rider was seen grinding his way through the gravel and unable to make it into the top 10.
Straight to Q2
As the chequered flag signalled the end of Practice, it was an all-Italian top four. Fabio Di Giannantonio was fastest for the second time today, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli. Fermín Aldeguer finished fifth, with Marc Márquez impressively ending the session in sixth. Behind them, it was Marco Bezzecchi, Jorge Martín, Álex Rins, and Diogo Moreira who rounded out the top 10.
Diogo Moreira’s 10th place finish meant that the rookie was advancing directly to Q2 for the first time in MotoGP. It was also very much job done for Marc Márquez, who later admitted he didn’t feel as comfortable as he had hoped:
“Honestly, the feeling wasn’t as good as I had expected, but we need time and we need to be patient. Obviously, I can’t move on the bike the way I’d like, but that’s normal considering I’m only two and a half weeks removed from surgery. We did our best today and achieved our target; we’ll see how I feel tomorrow.”
There’s work to be done for the rest of the riders, but Saturday’s qualifying sessions promise to bring some excitement in Mugello.
Feature image courtesy of Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team