Red Bull Motorsports
MotoGP
Marc Márquez 2nd as Danilo Petrucci wins a thrilling Italian MotoGP™ race
Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci took his maiden MotoGP™ victory on home soil at Mugello, beating championship leader Marc Márquez and team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.
As the lights went out for the start of the MotoGP™ of Italy at Mugello, Cal Crutchlow launched his LCR Honda from sixth on the grid to follow pole-sitter Marc Márquez around the opening lap, as Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso made an equally impressive start.
Dovizioso surged from 11th on the grid to end up second by the end of lap one, followed by the fellow Ducatis of Jack Miller and Danilo Petrucci, with Suzuki’s Álex Rins in among the Italian bikes up front.
As the race settled down, it was Petrucci who made the first move for the lead, passing Márquez at the beginning of Lap 5, followed by team-mates Dovizioso, Miller and Rins, relegating the reigning champion to fifth.
Valentino Rossi ended a dismal race in the gravel with 15 laps remaining, while up front it was a nine-way scrap, with Dovizioso at the head of the field. He was being hassled by Rins on the Suzuki – the Spaniard challenging the Ducatis in the corners, but ultimately losing out on the long pit straight to the Italian bikes' superior top speed.
After a strong fourth place at the previous round in France, Miller endured a race to forget. The Australian qualified fifth and was in the thick of the action, battling for the lead during the early stages, but crashed out with eight laps remaining – right after setting the fastest lap.
Petrucci led much of the second half of the race and, in a dramatic final lap, the scrap for the win went down to the wire. Márquez lead into the beginning of the last lap, only to be passed again by Petrucci, who held on to take his first-ever MotoGP™ victory ahead of Márquez, with Dovizioso in third.
MotoGP™ of Italy results
- Danilo Petrucci (ITA) 41m 33.794s
- Marc Márquez (ESP) +0.043s
- Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) +0.338s
- Álex Rins (ESP) +0.535s
- Takaaki Nakagami (JAP) +6.535s
- Maverick Viñales (ESP) +7.481s
- Michele Pirro (ITA) +13.288s
- Cal Crutchlow (GBR) +13.937s
- Pol Espargaró (ESP) +16.533s
- Fabio Quartararo (FRA) +17.994s
Maiden MotoGP™ win on home turf for Danilo Petrucci
In the world of motorcycle racing, it doesn't get much better than being an Italian and winning on Italian soil aboard an Italian bike. That's just what Ducati's Danilo Petruccidid at the Italian Grand Prix.
In his 124th MotoGP™ race, Petrucci answered his critics in style with a stunning and measured victory, beating the five-time MotoGP™ champion Marc Márquez by just 0.043s.
Since his promotion to the works Ducati team this year, Petrucci has had a solid, if not spectacularly successful debut season, but after a trio of six place finishes to start the season, he scored his best result of the year at the French Grand Prix, where he took third.
With pressure mounting, amid rumours of satellite Ducati rider Jack Miller being eyed up by the works team, this victory couldn't have come at a better time for Petrucci. Can he do it again in 2019?
Take a bow Takaaki Nakagami
LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami had a superb Italian Grand Prix and notched up his best result in the premier class of motorcycle racing. The Japanese rider continued his solid start to the season by coming home fifth, just six seconds behind winner Petrucci.
Throughout the early stages of the race, Nakagami was in touch with the leaders, before the quartet of Petrucci, Márquez, Dovizioso and Rins managed to pull away in the second half of the race. By beating team-mate Cal Crutchlow, Nakagami be full of confidence heading to Catalunya however.
Espargaró top 10 again with Red Bull KTM
He may have been absent from the cameras, as they focused on the white hot battle for the race win, but Red Bull KTM Factory Racing'sPol Espargaró scored another top 10 finish, his fourth of the season and his third in a row.
The Spanish rider managed to beat Fabio Quartararo, who went backwards following his front row starting position, and Cal Crutchlow, who went from battling for the lead in the first half of the race to finish just ahead of the KTM rider in eighth.
How the MotoGP™ championship looks heading to Catalunya
After Mugello, Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso said he was happy for team-mate Petrucci’s maiden victory, but the Italian will be annoyed at points dropped in his hunt to wrestle the MotoGP™ crown from Honda's Marc Márquez.
Dovizioso only has one Grand Prix victory to his name in 2019, and finishing behind Márquez in Italy means the reigning champion extends his lead in the standings to 12 points, with Suzuki's Álex Rins keeping touch in third after a fighting fourth place at Mugello.
