Factory Ducati rider Bagnaia ended a long wait for victory at the Mugello circuit, winning the sprint race. He beat Gresini’s Marc Marquez by more than a second.
Just a week before, he fell in the last lap of the sprint race at the Catalan Grand Prix while leading. This mistake cost him points and increased his gap to Pramac’s Jorge Martin in the standings.
Bagnaia admitted that he was cautious in the final lap, still remembering his crash in Barcelona. He said, “Absolutely it was. It was super scary.”
He continued, “The last two laps were quite difficult to manage, to remain in a constant pace. I saw that more or less for everybody it was the same situation.”
Marquez moved up to second after passing Martin. He closed the gap to Bagnaia but couldn’t catch up completely.
Bagnaia’s strong start from the second position was crucial for his win. He stressed the importance of a good start for the main race on Sunday, especially since he starts fifth due to a grid penalty.
He said, “I did a very good start and it was so useful in this case, because today the front temperature could be a problem and we managed a big lead already in the front corner. For tomorrow it will be more important, because I start from P5.”
