Francesco Bagnaia showcased his superiority during the Italian GP practice session of MotoGP. Competing on home soil, the two-time reigning champion left his rivals far behind this afternoon at Mugello.
After the first flying laps, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) was leading, ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha), with Bagnaia (Ducati) in third. Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) then took the lead, with Álex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha) in second and Quartararo in third.
The Frenchman was soon overtaken by Bagnaia and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) within the first ten minutes. The timing sheets then stabilized for a few minutes. With 32 minutes remaining, Acosta crashed at turn 13, damaging his bike but escaping without injuries.
💥@37_pedroacosta has gone down at T13!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 31, 2024
Thankfully rider OK (and in a rush to the pits) 👍#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/821xwtx5JG
The lead changed with 17 minutes remaining as Viñales went 0,158s faster than Marc Márquez. Rins moved up to second with less than eight minutes to go. Around the same time, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) took fourth place, pushing Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) to fifth.
The leaderboard was completely reshuffled three minutes before the end, with Bagnaia taking the lead, followed by Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) and Marc Márquez.
Bagnaia remained unchallenged and finished first, but Oliveira and Márquez ended up in fourth and fifth, respectively, being surpassed by Rins and Acosta.
The second half of the top ten, securing a spot in the second qualifying session, included Enea Bastianini (Ducati), Martín, Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati), Viñales, and Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia).
Fabio Quartararo, in 11th, missed out by just 0,019s to Aleix Espargaró. Also advancing to Q2 are Brad Binder and Jack Miller from the KTM factory team, along with all Honda riders.
Timesheets:
✌️ @PeccoBagnaia keeps that momentum going on home turf! @Rins42 is up to 2nd ahead of @37_pedroacosta, who bounced back from a crash earlier on 💪#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/3lpqATV0ud
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 31, 2024
