Raúl Fernández has been crowned the MotoGP Tissot Sprint winner at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello. The #25 rider took his maiden Saturday victory after a faultless 11 laps, the fifth sprint winner of the season. It’s a clear message to Aprilia management: this Spaniard is fighting to keep their spot. Read on for the full MotoGP sprint result at the Italian GP.
Lights Out and All Action of the Line
With an Aprilia front row lockout secured in the earlier qualifying session, the stage was set for a magical home sprint win for the Italian team. Fernández, in the middle, had chosen to go with the medium rear tyre, with Jorge Martín making the late challenge to follow suit. However, Marco Bezzecchi remained on the soft compound.
As riders lined back up on the grid after the warm up lap, all eyes were on that front row. But the launch from Marc Márquez was superb as he took the lead on the first corner. However, he dropped down quickly as Fernández and Martín held on. Another surprise launch came from Diogo Moriera, the rookie finding himself in third as Bezzecchi was knocked down to P6.
The other riders who got swallowed up in the pack were Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli, falling to P11 and P15, respectively. Fabio Di Giannantonio, who had finished first in every practice session, took the risk to pass Moreira, placing himself on a provisional podium finish. The Brazilian rookie fell backwards to come between the ongoing battle between M.Márquez and Bezzecchi.
Pressure Heats Up at the Halfway Point
Halfway with no incidents in a Tissot Sprint is almost unheard of in MotoGP of late. However, two Italians soon took an early exit. Enea Bastianini took several barrel rolls into the gravel of Turn 10, while Franco Morbidelli crashed at the same corner a moment later.
Eventually, M.Márquez managed to pass by Moreira, but the rookie didn’t make it easy for the veteran. Another early exit came from Joan Mir, who retired to the Honda HRC Castrol garage with yet another DNF. At the front, Fernández had been leading comfortably, but Martín attempted to respond to the Trackhouse MotoGP Team rider’s pace. On the penultimate lap, Moreira fell further outside of the points as he was passed by Ai Ogura.
Bagnaia was creeping up, overtaking in an impressive lunge past Pedro Acosta on the final lap. In the lead, Fernández had checked out, finally losing Martín and securing a flawless finish to take his first sprint race victory. Di Giannantonio took the last podium spot, continuing his magical Mugello campaign.
Sunday Feature Race to Come
While the front row will look the same with the Aprilia riders locked in, there will be a slight reshuffle further back. Marini has been served with a 3-place grid penalty for riding slow on line and disturbing both Morbidelli and Martín during the last practice session on Saturday morning. But as far as the rest of the grid is concerned, it’s another chance for a podium. Could we see an Aprilia rider on the top step once again? All will be revealed when the action returns to Mugello on Sunday.