Ducati scored a dominant 1-2-3-4 result in the ItalianGP, while there was more trouble for Honda and Yamaha. Here are 10 things we learned from MotoGP's visit to Mugello
MotoGP’s first leg of its triple-header saw Francesco Bagnaia stake his claim on defending his world title with a dominant display at Mugello. While there was more misery for Honda and Yamaha, the current state of affairs in motorcycle grand prix racing were also laid out at the Italian Grand Prix. Here’s 10 things we learned from this weekend.MotoGP returned to action at the Italian Grand Prix after a three-week break, with Francesco Bagnaia delighting the home crowd with a perfect weekend.
Nothing got better for 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo on his Yamaha, but team-mate Franco Morbidelli put on a good show as he bids to secure his MotoGP future. Unsurprisingly, Bagnaia branded it the “best weekend of the season”, and it’s lifted him 21 points clear in the standings. This line of questioning returned after three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo said in an interview that Marquez would leave Honda and accept a smaller contract elsewhere for a better bike.
Speaking after the race, Marquez admits the constant crashing is because of the risks he has to take to be fast on the Honda and that it is becoming “difficult on the mental side”. That’s a comment Honda must take to heart, given the injury and recovery hell Marquez has been through over the last three years to be able to ride competitively again.
Predictably, nothing much came of it. Qualifying 15th behind team-mate Franco Morbidelli, Quartararo was 10th in the sprint and trailed the Italian in 11th in the grand prix. Now 77 points behind Bagnaia, Quartararo’s championship bid has still failed to get off the ground. While there were smatterings of racing down the order, it was nothing that could be considered a spectacle. Overtaking in MotoGP has gotten harder in recent years due to the development of aerodynamics, the ride height devices and sensitive front tyres.
The Italian GP was a positive weekend. Outqualifying Quartararo strengthened claims he made to Motorsport.com at Le Mans that he is much more evenly matched with the Frenchman this year, while beating him in the grand prix is about as big a result as you can get right now on the underpowered Yamaha. Unfortunately for the 2020 world champion, history is repeating itself. Lorenzo’s sole campaign on the Honda saw him fail to score a single top 10 and get badly beaten up by the RC213V.
Not only does Honda need to build a bike that can win, it needs to desperately reverse its image as a manufacturer that chews up world champions and spits them out.Martin has enjoyed a resurgence in MotoGP but needs to rediscover that winning feeling to make the next stepPramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin has been in strong form since finally gelling with the 2023 Desmosedici from the Spanish GP.
As rumours of a Yamaha switch in 2024 swirl, remaining with Ducati is his best option given the competitiveness of the M1. But he needs to start proving he is Bagnaia’s equal if he has any ambitions of becoming his team-mate at the factory squad in 2025.
Vinales blamed bad tyres for his struggles all weekend, having finished without points in the sprint and struggled to 12th in the grand prix. After the race, Acosta picked up an Alpinestars-branded backpack on his way back to parc ferme. Once back with his team, he revealed the bag contained special Acosta-branded pizza boxes. Cheekily, he handed one to Arbolino’s Marc VDS team.
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