MotoGP Italian GP: Bagnaia Leads Ducati 1-2 in Mugello, Martin Completes Podium

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia secured his third consecutive MotoGP win at the Italian Grand Prix. His teammate, Enea Bastianini, made a late charge, overtaking Marc Marquez for third and then snatching second place from title leader Jorge Martin at the final corner. A win for Marquez would have continued Ducati's pattern of milestone victories. However, the Gresini rider missed the podium for the first time since his fall at COTA. Before the race started, Bagnaia received a three-place grid penalty for blocking Alex Marquez on Friday, dropping him to fifth. This pushed Maverick Vinales to second and Marc Marquez to the front row behind pole-sitter Martin. Despite the penalty, Bagnaia surged from seventh to first by Turn 2 and maintained his lead throughout the race.

MotoGP Italian GP: Mugello Race Result

For much of the 23-lap race, the top positions remained unchanged with Bagnaia, Martin, Bastianini, Marc Marquez, Pedro Acosta, Franco Morbidelli, and Maverick Vinales holding their places. Bagnaia maintained his lead while Jorge Martin kept a steady second. Eventually, Marc Marquez managed to overtake Bastianini for third. The Gresini Ducati rider, employing his ride-height device, left plumes of tyre smoke from the final corner.

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On the penultimate lap, Bastianini elbowed Marquez wide to reclaim third place. He swiftly passed Martin, who is anticipated to take his factory seat in 2025. This manoeuvre highlighted Bastianini's aggressive racing style. Meanwhile, Fabio di Giannantonio relegated Vinales to eighth, leaving KTM rookie Pedro Acosta as the only non-Ducati rider in the top seven.

Aleix Espargaro had a disappointing weekend, finishing 11th for Aprilia. Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez of Trackhouse concluded the race in 12th and 14th, respectively. Alex Rins brought home the last championship point for Yamaha in 15th place, with VR46's Marco Bezzecchi separating the two Trackhouse riders. Fabio Quartararo ended up 18th, trailing KTM's Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro.

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Yamaha struggled to convert their strong practice pace into race results. Quartararo's 18th-place finish was particularly disheartening. LCR's Takaaki Nakagami, Honda's Joan Mir, and Tech3's Augusto Fernandez were the only riders to drop out of the race. Fernandez showed frustration towards his pit crew after pulling into the pits on lap three, indicating issues that hampered his performance.