English
Italiano
It was a wild and crazy Sunday at Mugello for the Italians. Andrea Migno, Mattia Pasini and Andrea Dovizioso. Make a note of these names, because you could not have expected anything better from this day.
After Italian wins in Moto2 and Moto3 in the morning, hopes were high to see the green, white and red waving once again over the top step of the podium. A super Desmo Dovi took it upon himself to crown a day that smacks of history. And to think that this morning the Italian had turned up at the garage after pulling an all-nighter due to food poisoning that had even forced him to skip the warm up session. He went out on the track this morning only for starting practice – nothing more.
And so, the race was a gamble of the unknown, but his pace throughout the weekend was encouraging. Dovi gritted his teeth from the start, sticking close to Viñales’ Yamaha. Then, ten laps from the end came the decisive pass which gave him the lead that he would hold onto until the end: “There are truly a lot of emotions to describe this race – said the Borgo Panigale standard-bearer – I did not have a lot of energy, but there was no lack of support from the team and the fans. I really wanted this win – he added – It is a dream come true.”
Italy therefore does a hat trick at Mugello, something that had not happened since 2008. On that occasion it was Corsi, Simoncelli and Rossi who looked down from the top step of the podium at the Tuscan track.
Coming back to the present, Viñales had to settle for second: “I am pleased with this result –Maverick commented – In the finale I tried to press again, but I preferred not to risk since Danilo and Vale were farther back. Dovi was truly strong – he admitted – Then in the final laps I had to deal with the pain in my arm from the crash on Friday.”
On the Mugello podium there was not just one Ducati, but two. In addition to Dovizioso’s, Danilo Petrucci’s Pramac Ducati was also there. His front row in qualifying Saturday, which he was later denied for having gone outside the track limits, did not make the Italian rider happy, but he skilfully went above and beyond, proving to be a lion in the race and finishing ahead of Valentino Rossi: “I cannot believe what happened – the rider from Terni said – Initially I waited and then I went on the attack. At a certain point, I even thought I might win the race, but I did not have any more breath.”
There was no podium, on the other hand, for Valentino Rossi, forced to reckon with his precarious fitness after his motocross injury. The Doctor tried to stay close to the front in the early stages of the race, but over the long distance he was unable to maintain the pace of the trio ahead of him. Behind him, Bautista got the upper hand in a final dash against Marc Marquez, who appeared to be in the shadows at Mugello. Things went decidedly worse for his teammate Pedrosa, who ended up in the gravel on the last lap, unluckily colliding with Crutchlow.
This left Johann Zarco to finish behind Marquez, followed by Lorenzo, Pirro and Iannone to round out the top ten.
