37 points, two victories in the Sprint & Grand Prix and the gap to world championship leader JJorge Martin reduced by more than 20 points. The last three MotoGP days in Mugello couldn’t have gone much better for Francesco Bagnaia. The ‘clown penalty’ from training on Friday and the resulting fifth place on the grid are quickly forgotten. After just two corners, the world champion was in the lead in the Italian Grand Prix. The rocket start was no coincidence, Bagnaia copied it from his old team-mate.
It has long been clear to every driver, spectator and expert that the first few meters of the MotoGP race are of immense importance. After all, this is where the best opportunity to quickly gain positions arises. Francesco Bagnaia showed the blueprint for a perfect start to the race at his home race in Mugello: In the first few meters he left Marc Marquez behind him, in turn 1 he braked Maverick Vinales, and then caught up with Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini before turn two.
Bagnaia had a clear plan at the start, as he had studied the MotoGP race from the previous year in detail. “The start was very important again today, my strategy worked completely. Without it, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get my pace on the ground. It’s impossible to do better again,” said the Ducati star, looking back on the first two corners called San Donato and Luco.
Did the World Championship runner-up risk an early crash by taking too much risk? “No, that wasn’t the point. It was just about positioning myself well for the two corners. I decided to position myself on the outside in turn one because I knew that Jack Miller did it that way last year. Then you’re on the inside in turn two.” However, the plan almost failed, as the drivers on the outside rely on everything running smoothly on the inside.
“Maverick also braked very hard and almost destroyed my idea,” explained Bagnaia. “But then he went wide and I was able to close the line. Then I saw that Jorge [Martin] left the inside lane open, so I overtook.”
The rest is known, Bagnaia did not let his lead be taken away and controlled the gap to Martin until the finish. This means he has now celebrated his third GP victory in a row at Mugello. The last time he was defeated was in 2021, when he crashed while in the lead. Is Francesco Bagnaia starting a series of invincibility at the Autodromo Internazionale di Mugello like his mentor Valentino Rossi did from 2002 to 2008?
“I hope, of course, that I can repeat these results in the next few years. It is the perfect track for me and my riding style. I love the corners where you don’t need so much turning. I love the flow of the track, our bike fits perfectly here,” said Bagnaia, paying tribute to the 5.2-kilometer home track of the Ducatisti.
“And of course the fans help a lot too. People love Mugello, they live here in the paddock and camp here. To see so many fans under the podium was just incredible, you feel immortal. It’s really great and very important for me to win here.”