Manuel González was crowned the winner of the Moto2 Brembo Grand Prix of Italy over the weekend at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello. The #18 not only extended his Moto2 championship lead by 34.5 points, but he also broke the all-time lap record at the Mugello circuit. Read on for all the Moto2 race results and weekend action at the Italian GP.
Arbolino Fastest in Friday Free Practice 1
Overcast weather and a damp track are not the ideal conditions to start a Moto2 race weekend. But the riders filtered slowly out onto the Mugello circuit to test its limits. Not all the usual riders were present this weekend. Mario Suryo Aji was still out, focusing on recovery after his high-side crash at the French Grand Prix.
Xabier Zurutuza was once again called up to substitute for Jorge Navarro, who was also out on recovery. As was Unai Orradre for Ángel Piqueras. Though careful riding kept times in the 2:00s for the majority of Free Practice 1, a few riders began setting the pace for others to follow. Senna Agius, Alonso López, and Izan Guevara all placed themselves on top at one point.
Despite the track drying and riders switching to slicks, there were still damp patches on the Mugello circuit. As Ayumu Sasaki found out coming into Turn 1 when the front tyre folded in on itself. Adrián Huertas just managed to complete the time attack before the yellow flags came out.
In the last portion of the FP1 session, Taiyo Furusato proved the grip was there. The Japanese rider shot up to the top of the time board with a 1:57.826, over two seconds faster than Huertas. But the #99 rider came back up a moment later. In the final minute and after the checkered flag, many other Moto2 riders got their shot at the top. Ultimately, it was Tony Arbolino who clinched the fastest lap in the 1:53s, making Italian fans, including one shark spectator, very happy.
Vietti Leads Practice to Advance Straight to Q2
Despite being delayed in joining the Practice session, Celestino Vietti looked fast when he did come out with only a few wobbles. But the #13 had some heavy competition. The rest of the Moto2 riders were much faster out of the pit lane in the afternoon session, with the first lap already being set. With only 14 spots advancing straight to Q2, there was a lot to contend for.
As riders returned for their last runs of the session, it was only a matter of time before the all-time lap record would be broken. The honour first went to Manuel González, setting a time attack of 1:49.530.
Sasaki and David Alonso got close but were still more than half a second slower. It wasn’t until Guevara hit reds in every sector that the record was broken for the second time in the session. After tumbling down the timing board to P16, Vietti skyrocketed to the top spot with the fastest time and a new all-time lap record with two minutes of the session remaining.
Álex Escrig looked confident, but decided to pull out of the last flying lap after seeing his P6 finish and assuming he could do no better. But it was a disappointing end to some big names missing out on the top spots, including Holgado, Arón Canet, and Daniel Muñoz.
Guevara Leads FP2 on Sunny Saturday Morning
With gorgeous Tuscan mountains and sunshine, Saturday’s Free Practice 2 session was the perfect way to start the day. And it was clear the Moto2 riders were ready to tear it up as everyone picked up from the previous day’s blistering pace. Vietti was back up to the top, while Alonso took some risks with a foot completely off the peg as he rounded the corners.
The all-time Moto2 lap record was broken another three times in the final few minutes of FP2. Both LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP, González and Agius, clocked laps in the 1:49.0s to place them in the top two spots. However, Guevara put in a super flying lap to blow those times out of the water with 1:48.717. With no one getting close to that time, the #28 set the tone for the rest of Saturday.
González Breaks Records Again and Secures Pole
Considering the pace of the Moto2 weekend at Mugello up to this point, the stage was set for a shootout in both Q1 and Q2. Daniel Holgado got off to a rocket start with a lap that put him in a provisional advancing top spot, as did Dennis Öncü, Zonta van den Goorbergh, and Barry Baltus.
However, Arbolino managed to creep up into contention and knocked Baltus out. The four riders proceeded to Q2 as another 15 minutes counted down on the clock. Sergio García gave up his opportunity to qualify, landing heavily in the gravel between Turns 2 and 3. Öncü, meanwhile, managed to pull off a dramatic save but was visibly frustrated at having to pull out of the lap.
In fact, there were a few bumpy rides throughout the circuit, including a front-end save from Guevara and a huge wobble on the edge for González. Vietti was not so lucky, sliding out at Turn 10, having no choice but to settle for qualifying in P16.
In the end, it was González who stole the thunder from Filip Salač and set another all-time lap record with a time of 1:48.474
González Charges Ahead to Win Italian GP
There was drama on the sighting lap as Alberto Ferrández experienced a technical issue. The #54 was pushed the rest of the way back to the grid before returning to the BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 garage. Ferrández did rejoin but finished only in P19.
González launched off the line as the lights went out, leaving no chance for anyone to take his pole position from him. Zurutuza, Furusato, and Canet came down on Turn 6 before the completion of the first lap, bringing the yellows out.
As the second lap began, Muñoz went straight through Turn 1. A little further down, Escrig was edged out by López and sent tumbling into the gravel. The #21 was immediately investigated and served with a long lap penalty for causing the crash.
With all the early exits, the gap between the leading four increased. González and Iván Ortolá broke ahead, the latter keeping the current championship leader in sight. Yellow flags returned in Turns 4 and 5 with Sasaki having his second crash of the weekend and ending his Italian GP.
Things seemed to settle as the race reached halfway distance, with González checking out entirely. By the time the race reached a handful of laps to go, the #18 had extended the gap by over six seconds. Meanwhile, his teammate Agius battled Salač for P4. But the Australian suddenly found himself contending for a podium with Vietti as Ortolá fell back due to a technical issue.
Holgado came under danger in the last lap as both Vietti and Agius caught up to the #96. Vietti managed to finish in second, but Agius just missed out.