Written by Owen Bradley
MotoGP returns to the most iconic venue on the calendar, the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Francesco Bagnaia looking to close the championship gap to Jorge Martin, with Marc Marquez the dark horse attempting to mount his own championship challenge, as rookie Pedro Acosta seeks to continue impressing the MotoGP paddock.
Sprint Race
Jorge Martin would struggle to get his front tyre to stay on the ground at the start, falling to third place after qualifying on pole. Bagnaia would seize the lead of the race, as Enea Bastianini also managed to overtake the Spaniard.
It would be a relatively clean start for the field, however Miguel Oliveira would make contact with Fabio Quartararo at Turn 10, the Trackhouse Aprilia rider was clipped by the Yamaha on the rear, which sent the pair of them rolling into the gravel trap.
Martin would eventually fight back against Bastianini, resulting in Bastianini eventually diving up the inside of the Spaniard into Turn 1, running wide and looking for the switchback. However, as Martin was already back underneath him, Bastianini just cut slightly too far across, as the Pramac Ducati of Martin would hit Bastianini, who would slide into the barriers.
The leading Ducati's of Bagnaia, Martin and Marc Marquez were very close, as tyre wear began to become a major factor in the eleven lap sprint. Eventually, Martin's front tyre would give out from underneath him at Turn 1, after previously losing half a second to Pedro Acosta who was chasing the Ducati's. With Martin out of the Sprint race, Bagnaia was on course to gain more points on his championship rival, Martin now only 27 points ahead.
Bagnaia would come across the line to take a much needed victory to close down the championship deficit, with Marc Marquez continuing his podium streak including Sprint Races and Grands Prix, now holding six consecutive podiums. Acosta would have a calm and consistent race, overtaking future teammate Brad Binder and eventually inheriting a podium finish after both Bastianini and Martin crashed out.
Franco Morbidelli would have a great finish with P4, a good improvement on what has been a slightly difficult few seasons in MotoGP. Maverick Vinales would bring it home in fifth as the highest Aprilia rider, with Brad Binder just half a second behind in sixth.
Fabio Di Giannantonio would finish in seventh on behalf of VR46, who have had a difficult start to the season themselves. Teammate Marco Bezzecchi would finish outside the Top10, with an eleventh place finish.
Johann Zarco would finish as the top Honda rider once again, a 15th place finish for the Frenchman as Honda's woes continue, with rumours that Honda will leave MotoGP ahead of the 2027 regulations.
MotoGP returns tomorrow for the Italian Grand Prix, who will come out on top? let us know in the comments below!
Italian GP Sprint Race - Results
1st Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati
2nd Marc Marquez, Gresini Ducati
3rd Pedro Acosta, GasGas KTM
4th Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Ducati
5th Maverick Vinales, Aprilia
6th Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM
7th Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Ducati
8th Alex Marquez, Gresini Ducati
9th Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia
10th Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Aprilia
11th Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Ducati
12th Jack Miller, Red Bull KTM
13th Alex Rins, Yamaha
14th Pol Espargaro, KTM
15th Johann Zarco, LCR Honda
16th Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda
17th Augusto Fernandez, GasGas KTM
18th Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia
19th Luca Marini, Repsol Honda
DNF Jorge Martin, Pramac Ducati
DNF Joan Mir, Repsol Honda
DNF Enea Bastianini, Ducati
DNF Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha
DNF Miguel Oliveira, Trackhouse Aprilia
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