Fabio Di Giannantonio is starting his home Grand Prix campaign off on the right foot. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team rider has advanced straight into the second MotoGP qualifying session at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello. The #49 will be joined by nine other riders, with some familiar faces and some surprises. With the session red-flagged twice, it was certainly an interesting hour to watch. Find the MotoGP Practice results and breakdown below.
Sunshine and Early Top Lap Times
All the clouds burned away by the Tuscan sun, the conditions were primed for another fast-paced Practice. The biggest news, though, was not the change in the weather. After a relatively tentative and quiet Free Practice 1 session, Marc Márquez was given the all-clear for the remainder of the Italian GP.
There was no waiting this time for the reigning world champion, riding straight out with the rest of the grid as one hour counted down on the clock. First laps came in, and it was Di Giannantonio on top, setting a lap in the 1:45s on the soft rear tyre. But another Italian rider was lighting up red sectors on the recognisable red bike. Francesco Bagnaia set a 1:45.697, with Álex Rins splitting the two Ducati bikes on the V4-powered Yamaha.
The top three were back in the pit shortly after. A handful of riders remained out on track, including all four KTM riders from the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech 3 teams. But with a quarter of the session complete, only Enea Bastianini had cracked the top ten.
Aprilia On Point As Red Flags Come Out
As the session neared the halfway point, a mix of manufacturers filled the coveted top spots. This included three Aprilia riders, all with Manager Paolo Bonora’s message in their heads after the fallout from Catalunya: “Respect…Wait a little bit to make a manoeuvre. Don’t attack if there is not enough space. And, at the end, respect.” For Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi, it seemed the message had stuck, with both riders moving up to the first two spots on the board.
Suddenly, Fabio Quartararo lost the front of his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP machine. The bike slid through gravel and back onto the track at Turn 4, the rear coming back to knock the rider on the head lightly. Due to the motorcycle falling directly on the racing line and the debris left behind, the session was red-flagged for marshals to conduct a clean-up.
Session Resumes, As Does Yamaha’s Woes
It was a quick sweep before the green flags returned to resume the session, 30 minutes remaining. With only one bike left, Quartararo returned to the Mugello circuit after a debrief ten minutes later. Unfortunately for Yamaha, the hits kept coming. Jack Miller lost it early into Turn 1, dumping the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP machine into the gravel.
Quartararo almost had another moment through Turns 4 and 5, doing his best to control his temper at how unresponsive the bike is on this track.
Yamaha’s saving grace was Rins, still slotted into the top four with a quarter of the session to go.
KTM Reliability Issues Create Knock-On Effect
Brad Binder had no choice but to abandon his KTM off to the side past the pit lane exit, prompting a second red flag of the session. As marshals had to come out to retrieve the machine, riders were forced to return to their respective garages and abandon their laps. One who was incredibly frustrated with the red flag was Davide Tardozzi of the Ducati Lenovo Team.
With tyres from the previous run no longer useful, M. Márquez is awaiting the opportunity to come back out on fresh rubber to set final flying laps. Miller, on his only remaining bike, put in a hot lap to jump up to P3. But the Australian was not alone. M.Márquez, Morbidelli, Fermín Aldeguer, Bagnaia, and more were all gunning to stay on top.
The top five were all setting time attacks in the 1:44s as the momentum from further down built in the final minutes. Pedro Acosta looked to be a strong contender to jump up, as did Jorge Martín. But it was Acosta who pushed it too hard, losing the chance to try another lap as he found the gravel. Martín slotted himself in P8, just behind his Aprilia Racing teammate.
Friday Finished With Super Saturday and Sunday to Come
Big names will feature in Saturday’s Q1 session, forced to battle it out for two spots to progress forward. But it’s the all-Italian top three that will surely fight for pole position in Q2. Not to mention a Q2 first appearance from Diogo Moreira. But there is the lingering question as to what M.Márquez, who finished in P6, will do next.
Have we seen the reigning world champion pull off the impossible before? Without a doubt. Those highlights play on repeat for every MotoGP fanatic. But after the most recent crash and surgery, combined with previous injuries, it feels like the #93 could easily just coast through this weekend. It would be the smarter move for ongoing recovery. But what would a MotoGP weekend be without an unpredictable surprise or two? Watch this space for more reports over the Italian GP weekend.