Bagnaia triumphs as Italian GP serves up another home victory
Monday, 30 May 2022
Pecco defended a narrow lead.
Francesco Bagnaia triumphed at the Italian Grand Prix for the first time as the crowd at Mugello celebrated a home triumph.
The Ducati star continued his impressive run of mid-season form by fending off Fabio Quartararo, earning a second win in the last three races.
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This outcome means the Italian stop-off on the MotoGP™ circuit has been won by an Italian rider in three of the last five editions, Bagnaia joining Andrea Dovizioso in 2017 and Danilo Petrucci in 2019 in that group.
Bagnaia got ahead of early pace-setter Marco Bezzecchi with 15 laps remaining and clung on under pressure from championship leader Quartararo. Bezzecchi faded to fifth place as Aleix Espargaro took third and Johann Zarco was fourth.
The victory comes as a relief to Bagnaia, who crashed out when contesting the lead last time out at the French Grand Prix, having won the previous race in Spain.
Bezzecchi's Mooney VR46 team-mate Luca Marini was involved in much of the early running, moving up to third midway through the 23-lap race. The colleagues went close to touching as they jostled to compete with Quartararo for second place.
Gresini's Enea Bastianini, third in the championship, was then running sixth when he crashed out with eight laps remaining.
Bagnaia was defending a narrow lead but had enough power to resist Quartararo as they duked it out for the win, Marini sliding to sixth in the closing laps.
Before Dovizioso's 2017 win, Italian riders had not won any of the previous eight Italian Grands Prix, but it is becoming a regular sight to see Il Tricolore waved from the podium.
Two previous abandonments by Bagnaia at this circuit were cast aside as the 25-year-old from Turin took the top step this time, nudging up to fourth in the riders' season standings.
The tenth spot went to Marc Marquez, who faces a spell on the sidelines, with arm surgery booked in for the six-time MotoGP™ champion.
TOP 10
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.635secs
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +1.983s
4. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +2.590s
5. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) +3.067s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 122
2. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) 114
3. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) 94
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 81
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 75
Teams
1. Aprilia Racing 151
2. Ducati Lenovo 144
3. Monster Energy Yamaha 141
4. Suzuki Ecstar 125
5. Red Bull KTM 115
Possibly the sweetest of all his victories! 🏆@PeccoBagnaia lifts the #ItalianGP trophy as he wins at home! 🇮🇹#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/R2FXgSu1dz
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 29, 2022
