Spaniard Marc Marquez (Ducati) won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at the Mugello circuit, to consolidate his status as leader of the MotoGP World Championship.
Marquez, winner of the sprint race on Saturday, was ahead of two other Ducati riders at the end of the 23 laps of the majestic Mugello (5.250 km): his younger brother Alex Marquez, 2nd, and the Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati-VR46), 3rd. Teammate of Marc Marquez, the Italian Francesco Bagnaia – who had won the last three Italian GPs – had to settle for 4th place despite the support of 160,000 excited spectators throughout the weekend.
Marquez – whose only victory at Mugello in MotoGP dates back to 2014 – scored his fifth GP success of the season, the 67th of his career in the premier category and the 93rd in all categories combined.
Admirable race management
The Catalan managed his race admirably, letting Bagnaia, very aggressive, dictate the pace in the first laps, before taking the lead in the ninth and no longer being worried.
The six-time world champion, who had abandoned the traditional red livery of the Ducati for an elegant burgundy, increased his lead in the world championship: after 9 of the 22 rounds, he is ahead of his younger brother by 40 points and Bagnaia by 110 points with his 270 points.
“It’s something incredible to win this race. (…) We managed the race well, “Pecco” and Alex really pushed me to my limits, I had to give everything to get in front,” underlined the Spaniard, who signed the 100th pole position of his career this weekend. “I was hoping to be able to take a few points from Marc. I tried everything, I took the lead, but he was even stronger than us,” noted Alex Marquez, who seems to be the only driver who could stop his brother.
The next Grand Prix will take place next weekend in Assen, Netherlands.
