Ducati travels to Mugello for Sunday’s MotoGP, which is driven by both history and recent form. Regarding Mugello as its home race, the Italian manufacturer has won the last three Italian MotoGP and Jack Miller has won the last two races in Spain and France, while team-mate Francesco Bagnaia is second overall. The Frenchman Fabio Quartararo leads the standings for Yamaha, but has three Ducatis close behind him. Australian Miller, who this week extended his contract until the end of 2022, is fourth while quasi-Ducati teammate Johan Zarco, who drives for the Pramac satellite team, is third. Last year’s race in Mugello was canceled due to Covid-19, but Ducati, based in Bologna, 80 kilometers away, won in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and has been on the podium every year since 2015, fast, smooth track in the hills of Tuscany. In five races this season, Ducatis has finished nine podiums and finished first and second in the last two races in Spain and France. Standings leader Quartararo believes he can crash an Italian party at Mugello, despite the fact that his Yamaha will have a speed deficit on the one-kilometer pit straight. “On the straights we know that it is not a strength for us, but there are a lot of corners and I feel good in the fast corners,” he said at the press conference on Thursday. “We just have to start the weekend like a normal weekend, not think about the last three Ducati victories or the big straight here, just get going, pick up our pace and see on Sunday.” After victories in Doha and Portugal, Quartararo was leading in Spain when his right forearm cramped. He had to undergo arm pump surgery but returned to Le Mans and finished third behind Miller and Zarco in wet conditions. Bagnaia is only one point behind Quartararo, although he has not yet won the class. “It would be great if I could win my first race here, but that’s not my goal at the moment,” he said. “It’s more important to be consistent and then competitive.” Miller only crossed the finish line once in six MotoGP races at Mugello, finishing 15th in 2017. “My testimony from Mugello is not the most pleasant,” he said. “I’ll try to fix that this weekend.”
– Marquez Revival –
Italian hero Valentino Ross, now 42, fought for the Yamaha satellite team SRT, which sparked speculation that this will be his final season. “We have four races in five weeks,” he said. “Everyone will start thinking about 2022 … at that point I’ll make my decision. But it’s not just my choice, I have to talk to the Petronas team and also to Yamaha.” At Le Mans there were indications that the six-time world champion Marc Marquez is fit again after a broken arm after a break of almost a year. He led briefly, but pushed for the statement to win and slipped twice. “We showed our wet potential in France,” he told the Honda website. “I am now going to two races in a row, which is the first time for me this year. It will be more physically demanding, but we can do it.” In Moto2, the focus will be on KTM Ajo teammates Remy Gardner, the championship leader, and Raul Fernandez, who is just one point behind. Gardner, a 23-year-old Australian, has yet to win in 2021 but was no worse off fourth. The Spanish debutant Fernandez has won twice, in Portugal and France. In Moto3, the Spanish “rookie” Pedro Acosta, who turned 17 on Tuesday, will again be the focus after three wins in five races. He leads the overall standings with a massive 54 points, with 103 points ahead of another Spanish teenager, Sergio Garcia, with 49.
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