MotoGP

Ducati ends Mugello MotoGP Friday fastest with Bagnaia

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
3 min read

Ducati MotoGP rider Francesco Bagnaia topped the second practice session for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.

But it was KTM rider Miguel Oliveira who headed the timesheets for nearly the whole session, having surpassed Maverick Vinales’s FP1 benchmark early on as he appeared to trial a new KTM chassis.

That initial benchmark, a 1m46.584s, looked finally set to fall with two minutes left on the clock as Vinales’ Yamaha team-mate Fabio Quartararo came through the first two sectors up by three tenths, but the championship leader came up on a gaggle of slow bikes and aborted the lap, barely concealing his frustration.

But just a minute later Alex Rins (Suzuki) did jump ahead of Oliveira, by three and a half tenths, with the other works KTM of Brad Binder slotting into second moments later.

Quartararo dropped in between the two with his next attempt and still had enough time for another go, running 0.016s ahead of Rins after the third sector but ultimately failing to improve on his time.

Instead, it was Bagnaia – down by two hundredths after two sectors – who jumped out ahead to snatch first place from Rins at the death with a 1m46.147s.

Quartararo was shuffled down to fourth, behind Bagnaia and Rins but also his former Petronas SRT Yamaha team-mate Franco Morbidelli. The other factory Yamaha, that of Vinales, was only 17th.

Oliveira was unable to improve on that initial time on a fresh soft rear and was in the end sixth, right behind Binder in what was a much-improved showing for the KTM’s works squad.

LCR man Takaaki Nakagami was the top Honda in seventh, ahead of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, with two Ducatis – Jack Miller’s works machine and Johann Zarco’s Pramac-run Desmosedici – making up the top 10.

Marc Marquez, whose physical fitness is expected to be tested significantly this weekend, was 12th, a tenth down on Suzuki’s reigning champion Joan Mir and 0.013s up on works team-mate Pol Espargaro.

May 25 : Is it time for Valentino Rossi to retire from MotoGP?

It was another rough showing for home hero Valentino Rossi on what could be his final Italian GP weekend as a MotoGP rider. Rossi rode through the gravel twice at San Donato during FP2, and settled on the 21st spot, ahead of only Tech3 KTM’s Iker Lecuona.

Practice 2 Results

Pos Name Team Bike Gap Next Gap Leader Best Time
1 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 1m46.147s
2 Alex Rins Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.071s +0.071s 1m46.218s
3 Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha +0.113s +0.184s 1m46.331s
4 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.041s +0.225s 1m46.372s
5 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.064s +0.289s 1m46.436s
6 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.148s +0.437s 1m46.584s
7 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda +0.009s +0.446s 1m46.593s
8 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia +0.062s +0.508s 1m46.655s
9 Jack Miller Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.033s +0.541s 1m46.688s
10 Johann Zarco Pramac Racing Ducati +0.152s +0.693s 1m46.84s
11 Joan Mir Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.007s +0.7s 1m46.847s
12 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.126s +0.826s 1m46.973s
13 Pol Espargaró Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.013s +0.839s 1m46.986s
14 Michele Pirro Pramac Racing Ducati +0.121s +0.96s 1m47.107s
15 Danilo Petrucci Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.022s +0.982s 1m47.129s
16 Luca Marini SKY VR46 Avintia Team Ducati +0.025s +1.007s 1m47.154s
17 Maverick Viñales Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.041s +1.048s 1m47.195s
18 Alex Marquez LCR Honda Castrol Honda +0.131s +1.179s 1m47.326s
19 Enea Bastianini Avintia Esponsorama Racing Ducati +0.154s +1.333s 1m47.48s
20 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia +0.188s +1.521s 1m47.668s
21 Valentino Rossi Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha +0.051s +1.572s 1m47.719s
22 Iker Lecuona Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.073s +1.645s 1m47.792s
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • More Networks