1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati): “It wasn’t easy starting from fifth place. But then I had the plan to try it on the outside. It worked perfectly. Then I started to push. That wasn’t easy because the rear tire was difficult to manage. A win today after a weekend like this is fantastic. I love everyone here [die Fans]it’s unbelievable. I’m also very happy for Enea, he did a good job. There’s not much more to say: Grazie Italia! Grazie Mugello! Fantastico!”
2. Enea Bastianini (Ducati): “The feeling is incredible because it was a difficult phase for me. Something went wrong, but we were able to solve the problem and pushed really hard today. I can be very satisfied. I was a bit asleep in the middle of the race. But after Marc overtook me, I understood that I had to push. On the last lap I saw Jorge very close and I thought: even second place is possible. I overtook him in the last corner. I am very happy.”
3. Jorge Martin (Pramac): “I’m certainly a little frustrated about the last lap. We made a lot of progress because I stayed with Pecco at this incredible pace. We were setting records lap after lap. At the end I thought I could pull it off and I closed the gap. But I realised I was too close to the limit and waited until the last lap. I’m frustrated with myself because I didn’t close the line. Then Enea overtook me. But a podium after such a difficult weekend can still be decisive. It’s time to recover now and we’ll come back stronger in Assen.”
4. Marc Marquez (Gresini): “We missed the podium but we drove a good race. I couldn’t overtake Bastianini and when he overtook me with two laps to go it seemed like he had fresh tires. Both Pecco and him were really strong. We go home with a few more points in the standings and we are very positive for the next two races, which are back to back. We will keep working during the test day to further improve our feeling.”
5. Pedro Acosta (GasGas): “It was a tough race to be honest. We were missing something at the start and we couldn’t keep up with the others, but P5 was the maximum we could get today. It was also very important to score points after two DNFs in a row and to gain racing experience, especially with a view to the test tomorrow. Overall we are satisfied, even if we want more and can do more, but we have to keep working on it because we are getting closer to the leaders every day!”
6. Franco Morbidelli (Pramac): “The Italian GP was a very consistent weekend. I’m happy with the race. I tried to get an even better result, but I decided not to take any risks and secure sixth place. After the difficult start to the season that I had, it’s important to get results and build consistency. This gives extra motivation and we, the team and I, need that too. Tomorrow we have another day on track to test and that will certainly help me to take another step forward.”
7. Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46): “I’m very happy but also tired. I pushed a lot and it’s not easy to overtake here. I tried, I’m happy, it was a good comeback. We always show that we are strong and fast, the feelings are positive. On the one hand, it’s not an easy year, but we’re showing our true potential and that’s what makes me most proud. I started well today, but in the end I took a step. I ride smoothly, brake well and have good speed at corner entry. I can handle the tires, maybe also thanks to the training I do at home, but I can save extra energy in the final stages of the GP. Let’s enjoy this beautiful race and get back to work tomorrow.”
8. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia): Statement follows
9. Alex Marquez (Gresini): “It was a very similar race to Austin in terms of demands. We started well and were in a fast group of riders, even though I lost a position at the end. We were 12 seconds faster than last year, but of course we want more. We will try to find something for better balance and more speed in the test.”
10. Brad Binder (KTM): “Surely we expected more today, but the reality is that once we got rolling we just didn’t have the pace to keep up with the guys in front of us. I did my best but when I started pushing I kept losing touch and couldn’t hold the line well. It was a difficult race today and we’re lucky to have a test tomorrow because we have a lot of ideas and want to find a direction to work in.”
11. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia): Statement follows
12. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse): Statement follows
13. Marco Bezzecchi (VR46): “Since this morning I have had a clutch problem. It is not the first time this has happened but it is even more difficult to make a good start. A race very similar to yesterday, we collected data but we struggled. Tomorrow we will make the most of the test: I only have one problem to solve, the understeer in the middle of the corner. If I drive like this I immediately wear out the front tyre and on tracks like this and Barcelona where the tyre is already under pressure I suffer a lot.”
14. Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse): “It was a long race, with a good pace at the end, very consistent. With four laps to go, when I wanted to overtake, I got stuck in fifth gear. I don’t know if it was a gearbox problem, maybe just something to do with the gearshift, because I couldn’t get past. In the race we had more or less the same problems as all weekend, I couldn’t turn much in the fast corners, spending so much time leaning really affects the lap time for me, I’m disappointed, the team tried to find a solution but we had to suffer today.”
15. Alex Rins (Yamaha): “I drove as fast as I could, but when we started doing lap times of 1:47 minutes, it was very difficult to keep the pace. I had a lot of traction problems, but I think we still have a lot of room for improvement with the electronics. In terms of the race start, I have improved. Yesterday I [in der ersten Kurve] I braked too early, about 25 meters ahead of my teammate, but this time I had a better start. I positioned myself well but then I lost two positions on the first lap, but at least I was as competitive as possible after that.”
16. Jack Miller (KTM): “We fought and it was a lot of work for no points, but I really struggled with the front at the beginning and it was only after 6-7 laps when the rear fell off that everything was a bit more balanced. Eventually I was able to find a good rhythm and start some overtaking at the end. It’s no secret that we struggled this weekend. We made a lot of changes and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s test to try and solve the problem.”
17. Pol Espargaro (KTM): “We didn’t expect much because we wanted to collect some data, finish the race and get some information about the tire degradation. The pace was still decent and I got to the front with Jack. The guys [Brad und Jack] will use some of what we tried this weekend and having tried it today will make their job easier for tomorrow. I think we did a good job overall. We set ourselves some goals, both for lap speed and for the full distance.”
18. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha): Statement follows
19. Johann Zarco (LCR Honda): Statement follows
20. Luca Marini (Honda): “I think this race was even better than in Barcelona. I had a good feeling in the last seven laps and my pace was close to that of the top ten. There is certainly more to do because the gap to the first is too big, but we are now working in the right direction. It is a pity that I could not offer the fans a better performance, but things will get better in the future. Our base is quite good now, we need to keep working on the final details. Tomorrow’s test will give us a good opportunity to experiment.”
21. Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia): Statement follows
DNF Augusto Fernandez (GasGas): “It’s a shame we couldn’t finish the race again. We had a technical problem, which is rare but it can happen and there was nothing we could do. My start was good and I felt like I was improving as the laps went by, so I’m sad we couldn’t continue in the race and try what we had prepared. We have a test tomorrow to try more things. It’s important to keep fighting, the season is long and I know we can improve!”
DNF Joan Mir (Honda): “Honestly, the bike felt good at the start of the race and I think everything was there to move forward. I was able to push at the front and I was battling with Pol Espargaro. I could see the group in front of me starting to pull away and he and I had a little battle. When I braked behind him at Turn 1, I lost the front and crashed. It’s a shame, of course, but we’re gathering ourselves and getting ready for tomorrow’s test to try a few things.”
DNF Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda): Statement follows