Fabio Quartararo pays homage to Jason Dupasquier with an outstanding win in Mugello.
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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo hosted a master class in Italy over the weekend and returned to his winning streak at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello. This is the Frenchman’s first win since his arm pump operation and the team’s fourth in the 2021 season. Teammate Maverick Viñales secured a hard-fought eighth place in today’s emotionally and physically demanding Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley.
Quartararo delivered an outstanding performance at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley. Determined to win this race for the late Jason Dupasquier, he did it in style. Maverick Viñales did not have the best starts from 13th on the grid, but recovered to 8th place when the checkered flag came out. Quartararo had to pull himself together after an emotional minute’s silence before the start of the race. Although it was difficult to focus afterwards, the Yamaha man was determined to ride to Dupasquier’s credit.
Viñales had a difficult start from 13th on the grid and found himself in 16th place after the first lap. However, the Spaniard made up two places and with two other riders who dropped out, he moved up to 12th place. He was at the end of a group of three battling for tenth place, but after the first eight rounds the group began to break up. Eager to stay in the competition for a top 10 spot, Top Gun increased the pace.
With 15 laps to go, he overtook Pol Espargaró. He continued to set red and personal best sectors and soon passed Danilo Petrucci as well. Next came Michele Pirro, who resisted, but in the end was not up to the Spaniard. Viñales did it in lap 13. After using most of his mid-size tires, it was too big to close the gap of over 4 seconds on the ninth driver. With two late crashers, however, the number 12 driver finished eighth across the finish line, 17.239 seconds ahead of the first.
With this impressive victory, Quartararo extends its lead in the championship standings to 24 points, a total of 105 points. Viñales is now sixth with a total of 64 points. Yamaha is back in first place in the constructors’ championship with a total of 132 points, and the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team also took first place in the team’s championship with 169 points.
The next MotoGP race weekend will take place next week in Catalonia, Spain, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from June 4-6, 2021.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – How it happened
“In short, there was a lot of emotion today. It was a great day for us, but it was so hard to stay focused. In all honesty, I don’t know how to keep this pace because every lap you think of Jason Dupasquier. It’s not easy and I think all the drivers drove for him. My thoughts are with his family. My strategy today was to see what position we would get with the holeshot machine. I’m super happy with it, I was second in the first corner.
I remember 2019 when I started from second here and I think I was eighth or ninth in the first corner. It was unbelievable to get into the first corner in fourth gear and in second position today. I drove slightly behind Francesco Bagnaia and when I saw him fall I wanted to try to do a maximum of five laps. But then Johann Zarco overtook me. So I said, ‘I have to make aggressive moves’. Above all to lose time and also to open a gap. I thought, ‘If I can stick to going into the first corner, it’s good,’ and that’s how it happened. So I’m very happy about my race. “
