For the third session in a row, home hero Fabio Di Giannantonio topped the timesheets in this morning’s FP2 session. He was carrying all the momentum as qualifying began. However, he was unable to replicate his pace when it mattered. Consequently, Aprilia found time in Mugello qualifying, bringing Marco Bezzecchi onto pole.
Fernández Had Speed in Qualifying 1
With some big names in the first qualifying session, riders were quick to head on track. Both Trackhouse MotoGP Team riders and Pedro Acosta went straight out, attempting to set an early lap and secure their spot in the following session. Initially, Acosta went to the top, but he was immediately ousted by Raúl Fernández. His teammate, Ai Ogura, then slipped into second, dropping Acosta out of the top two.
But there was no stopping Acosta, who followed it up with the fastest lap time of the weekend so far. A 1:44.765 saw him go back to the top of the times, 0.069 seconds ahead of Fernández. With the initial laps completed, one tenth separated the top three. However, they was a bigger gap behind them, with Joan Mir in fourth being four tenths adrift of Ogura in third.
Final runs began and Q1 became an all out battle to advance between Trackhouse and Acosta. Fernández put in an impressive lap to go P1, dropping Acosta down. Whilst Ogura was setting the fastest times in sectors 1 and 3, he was unable to find that last piece of time, staying P3. This saw Fernández and Acosta advance to Q2.
LCR Honda’s replacement for Johann Zarco, Cal Crutchlow, remained at the back of the pack. However, each session this weekend has seen him find time. He qualifies P22, but his time of 1:47.092 marks his best lap of the weekend, and shows impressive improvement since yesterday.
Aprilia Show Speed in Qualifying 2
In Q2, Fabio Di Giannantonio was the rider to watch. So far this weekend, he’s been in the top spot in all sessions. After his win in Barcelona, Di Giannantonio was looking to secure a pole position on home turf. Riders headed on track immediately, all hoping to best the No. 49 when it mattered most.
Francesco Bagnaia led the field, and his time of 1:44.986 became the benchmark to beat. However, he didn’t stay P1 for long, with everyone behind him finding more speed. First attempts had been laid down and Aprilia found speed overnight. Aprilia Racing saw a P1 and P3 with Jorge Martín ahead. Fernández split the factory duo. Rider to watch, Di Giannantonio set a lap good enough for P4, and once again the sector difference came across. Aprilia were showing strength in the final two sectors, whereas Ducati’s speed came in the first two sectors.
Young rookie, Diogo Moreira, continued to impress at Mugello. After advancing straight into the second qualifying group, his first lap put him fifth on the grid. As the second laps came in, the LCR Honda rider did drop down the order. But he achieved his best starting position in MotoGP so far, P8.
Bezzecchi Sets New Lap Record in Mugello
With second runs coming in, most riders were finding time compared to their first laps. Marco Bezzecchi was finding the most time though. An impressive lap saw him fly to provisional pole, but it also saw him smash the all-time lap record. 1:43.921 was over two tenths quicker than the previous lap record. This record-breaking time saw him secure pole position, his first since Thailand. Aprilia secured the front row, with Fernández P2 and Martín P3.
On his return, Marc Márquez was showing why he can never be counted out. Optimising Ducati’s speed at the start of the lap, he was setting red sectors and flying. It fell away in the final sector, however, it was good enough to go P4 to lead the second row. Row two was a full Ducati lock out, with Fermín Aldeguer and Bagnaia coming in behind Márquez.
Starting seventh will be a disappointment for Di Giannantonio considering his pace throughout practice. But he has shown good starts this year so he can go forward in the races. Bezzecchi is back on pole, making it a home rider on top. He leads the championship but has seen some bad luck in recent rounds. Can he turn that around and win on home soil?