Thoughts by Kate Adams
Perfect Pecco sat atop a beautiful blue factory Ducati motorcycle and stole the show at his home race in Mugello. He did the double and took crucial championship points, closing the gap to Pramac rider Jorge Martin.
@DucatiCorse
Picking up a pair of P1s will see Pecco Bagnaia head into the three-week break only 18 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin. Fellow factory rider Enea Bastianini stole the second spot in the Sunday Grand Prix race, with a Ducati 1-2 being the result that Ducati would have wanted in Mugello. Bastianini picked up the result after a tangle with Jorge Martin saw him crash out on Saturday.
Jorge Martin also crashed out of the Saturday Sprint before picking up a podium on Sunday, slightly overshadowing his teammate Franco Morbidelli, who picked up his best results of the season with a P4 in the Sprint and a P6 in the Grand Prix. Surely, that will help his hopes of remaining in MotoGP with the silly season rumors speculating about his seat.
@Michelin
Gresini Ducati rider Marc Marquez also picked up a good haul of world championship points with a podium on Saturday and a P4 on Sunday. With the German Grand Prix only a couple of rounds away, you do wonder if he is ready to stand on the top step of the podium again. Across the garage, Alex Marquez secured a P8 in the Sprint and a P9 in the Grand Prix, rounding out a good weekend for the brothers.
Fabio Di Giannantonio continued his strong run of form with a pair of P7s, continuing to be the stronger of the VR46 riders, while teammate Marco Bezzecchi continued to struggle on that year-old Ducati. Bezzecchi didn't pick up points on Saturday with a P11 and only managed to collect a couple on Sunday with a P13.
Factory KTM saw Brad Binder power off the line in the Sprint before battling at the front and crossing the line in 6th place. He struggled more on Sunday, only collecting a P10. Jack Miller had another pointless weekend with a P12 in the Sprint and a P16 in the Grand Prix. He seemed quite confident he will still have a place on the grid in interviews, even though coming into the weekend, we saw satellite KTM rider Pedro Acosta and Factory KTM announce that Acosta will be Brad Binder's teammate in 2025.
@KTM
Acosta picked up another podium in the Sprint with a third place and followed it up with a P5 in the Grand Prix—more brilliant results by the rookie who continues to impress with his natural talent and killer instinct. Augusto Fernandez came home in P17 in the Sprint before a technical issue saw him retire from the Grand Prix.
Aprilia's weekend was quite mild. Aleix Espargaro finished P11 in the Grand Prix and P9 in the Sprint, while teammate Maverick Vinales finished P8 in the Grand Prix and P5 in the Sprint. Both were comfortably ahead of their satellite team, Trackhouse Racing. After his strong weekend last time out, Raul Fernandez finished P12 in the main race after a P10 in the Sprint. Miguel Oliveira crashed out of the Sprint, taking Fabio Quartararo with him, before coming home in P14 in the Grand Prix.
Sunday was also without success for Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo, with a P18 leaving him without points. It was his teammate Alex Rins stealing the spotlight with some strong performances in practice and qualifying. However, he was unable to translate this into race results, with the Yamaha struggling on race day and Rins finishing P15 in the Grand Prix and P13 in the Sprint.
@HRC
Honda hearts continue to break with Joan Mir crashing out of the Sprint, Luca Marini finishing last, and LCR riders Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami finishing in P15 and P16 on Saturday. Sunday saw Mir retire due to vibration issues and Nakagami crash out, with Zarco and Marini finishing in P19 and P20. It's a very bad look for the Japanese manufacturer, who may need to hunt quite hard for riders for the 2025 season if this form continues.
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