MotoGP riders reflect on Mugello – Jack Miller extended cut

MotoGP 2023

Round Six – Mugello

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Pecco Bagnaia – P1

“I’m happy for sure it’s the best weekend so far. Pole position, winning the Sprint, winning the Grand Prix, so for me it’s the best way possible to do a race weekend in Italy. I want to say thank you to all the fans because looking at the grandstands and looking around the track was incredible today. It was like how we saw Mugello in the past, and I really want to say thanks to all the people that have come yesterday and today. It’s been unbelievable I’ve really enjoyed the weekend I’ve really enjoyed the work we did to arrive at this performance, and today the race was quite tough really but sincerely I’m really happy to finish in this way.

“When I saw Miller was already overtaking me at the start I just said to myself no I have to be at the front and to push because I knew that many riders were starting with a soft rear tyre and I didn’t want to be with anyone in the first part of the race. I just wanted to have an advantage in the last part so I was just trying to push. Then in the last part of the race it was tricky for everybody but sincerely I’m quite happy with my choice because I think that for me that was the best option.”

Jorge Martin – P2

“It was a really difficult race, I chose the soft rear because I didn’t have the confidence, so I took the risk, yesterday I felt great, but the last four laps were tough. I could make it to the finish line, made some points, for my team, my family, my girlfriend, it is amazing.”

Johann Zarco – P3

“Pretty happy with the medium, I knew I could be pretty competitive, the others were also pretty fast and I know a few guys ran the softer rear tyre, and I expected to cross the performance at the end of the race, but I don’t know what Marini was using. When I overtook Marini I said ‘why not take over Jorge’ because he was on the soft one but he was managing pretty well and I could not go much faster, but the podium is fantastic.”

Luca Marini – P4

“I tried to go as fast as possible, I didn’t expect this race. In these cases, when you’re not at 100%, it’s a big advantage to start from the front row. I gave everything, tried to manage in the middle of the race, to catch a breath. When Alex overtook me (Marquez), I tried not to lose the contact, I pushed even harder. Then with Johann (Zarco) I was in much more difficulty. I no longer had strength in my hand, I was almost crying, because a podium at Mugello would have been, and still is, a dream for everyone. I can’t wait to do this race again next year: the fans were fantastic, we saw a Mugello full of people and also many young people. It’s important to send a message, entertain fans and give as many emotions as possible.”

Brad Binder – P5

“Quite happy with 5th place today considering we started in 10th but we want more! We had a stronger main race today compared to the Sprint yesterday where we lost the opportunity to make more points. I would say our highlight of the weekend is the fact that our guys have built a rocket! It’s working well and we cannot argue with the top speed. Going forward we have some small details to work on and I think we’ll be stronger than what we were today.”

Aleix Espargaró – P6

“Unfortunately, during this weekend we did not have the performance we had expected. My injury is not an excuse. Yesterday and today in the race, it did not limit me, we were quite simply lacking a bit of speed. We need to continue working. The gaps are not too wide to close but a single detail is enough to change the situation.”

Jack Miller – P7

“I’d say that’s one you’d file under ‘somewhat satisfied’. I’m not going to get carried away over finishing seventh, but some points there, a sixth in the sprint race and gaining a place in the championship at a track that’s not been too kind to me in the past … I’ll take that.

“Mugello is a track I’ve always liked, even if it hasn’t particularly liked me in the past – my results here haven’t been great, I’m not going to lie. But I felt coming in we could challenge with the top speed on the KTM, and this bike turns really well too, and there’s a lot of long corners here. So I was definitely optimistic, and excited to try something new at this track after all the years on a Ducati.

“From where Saturday started with me in Q1, to qualify on the second row and end up in sixth in the sprint race was actually pretty decent. It felt good to be part of the fight up the front, but I was struggling the whole race at Turn 1 trying to get the bike stopped there, it felt like the other boys were able to fire it in deeper and control their deceleration a bit better. I felt like every time I got into a decent spot, I was leaving the door open and letting at least two bikes through at Turn 1!

“I felt better towards the end of the race, but sixth and a chance for better on Sunday, I was alright with that. I made a pretty tough move on Marc (Marquez) in the sprint and I didn’t intend to nudge him like I did … no harm no foul I suppose, and I was glad he was able to stick on the bike like he did. The last lap – I was definitely real nervous when I saw ’93’ on the pit board so I was making sure I got every apex, definitely not leaving any room between myself and the kerb on the inside because when you’ve got him behind you, you know he’s always going to fire one at you. I didn’t want to make it easy for him!

“As for Sunday … yeah, somewhat satisfied is the way I’d describe it – but definitely wanting more. I had a decent start and it was nice to lead into Turn 1, but I was just missing a bit of pace there in the beginning, the other boys seemed to be able to pull out two to three-tenths (of a second) each lap and I couldn’t find that extra little bit. After mid-race, the gaps kind of stabilised and I felt like I was getting more and more comfortable, but I just need to find a little more speed. Decent points and 10 seconds back from the win … we can’t be too disappointed because it’s one of my best results in Mugello so I have to take that as a bonus and be happy to come out the other side. We’ve got some tracks coming up that I know I go better at like Sachsenring and Assen, so to come out of here with the points I did was alright – it’s an improvement on how it usually goes for me here, let’s be honest.

“I got back to Australia for a couple of weeks since we last raced – it’s very unusual to be able to sneak back during the season, so we took the chance to get back and catch up with family and get Ruby checked out, it was really good. It’s a strange one because we come back here for a triple-header, and then it’s a few weeks off and back home again!

“It gave me probably more time than I wanted to think about Le Mans, because that was a bit a nightmare with a silly mistake in the main race. So, try to forget that but learn from what happened at the same time, and then it’s just looking forwards to the triple-header.

“Sachsenring is such an unusual place with the layout there and how much of a one- off it is, but I had a podium there last time and I’m keen to see how the KTM goes there – not long now until we find out.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P8

“A real shame, I was fast all weekend and today I expected more. Immediately after the start, at the third corner, I understood that it was going to be a very difficult race. I had no feeling at the front and we need to understand what happened because the bike is the same as yesterday and we haven’t made any changes. Even in battle, I got very close to Jack and Aleix (Miller and Espargaro) but then I lost the contact. I’m sorry, even for the public, they supported us all weekend and maybe today they were hoping for something different from me. What happened is very strange, but we can immediately recover at the Sachsenring and move on.”

Enea Bastianini – P9

“It was a really difficult race today, 23 laps was very long for me because after so much time without riding the bike it was difficult. I made a solid P9, battled a lot with Fabio and Franco for the entire race then in the last ten laps I made a big drop and it was more difficult, but another ninth place was OK. Yesterday’s Sprint was OK and the first day obviously better but now I have to check my shoulder again and see if I can do something for the next race because it is so difficult for me. Probably Sachsenring will be a bit less physical compared to this one, my shoulder will be stronger and I can do a better race, but I need the summer break to make my arm stronger for the second half of the season.”

Franco Morbidelli – P10

“It was a nice race. I could engage in some fights in the beginning. I was believing in something good, but then the front pressure went up again, and I needed to step it down. In the end I brought the bike home with a top-10 result. We know that, even if the position is not what we want it to be, we are doing the maximum, and that we are doing good work at the race. But we need to keep going because we know it‘s not enough.”

Fabio Quartararo – P11

“We couldn‘t make a great race today. I noticed already this morning that I was not feeling so great on the bike. The tyre choice also didn‘t work out. We should have gone with the soft rear tyre instead of the medium for the race. We are having a tough moment. Let‘s see what we can do at the Sachsenring.”

Maverick Viñales – P12

“It has been a difficult weekend and a difficult day. I was never able to find an acceptable level of grip, especially at the front, so much that it was even hard to stay on the bike. In the race, I started losing grip as early as the second lap and I was only able to overtaking in the finale. We will naturally need to analyse the data to figure out why this happened. And we need to keep working to improve.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P13

“Overall, it’s been a challenging weekend. During today’s race, I struggled with the front side of the bike, I didn’t have the feeling. However, I felt good in the braking areas, and in the end, we managed to score some points, it’s important to look at the bright side, we are not giving up!

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P14

“We had another great start and battled with a big group. It was a positive race with a good pace especially in the second half, even though a technical problem in the last five laps prevented us from making one or two more positions. We got plenty of data however for the next races.

Augusto Fernandez – P15

“It was a tough weekend overall, so I am happy to score one point in the end. The race was long and hard, we learned a lot and it was important for me to finish it, especially on a difficult track like this one, and in these tough conditions. The start of the race was not great, I was struggling to get on with a good rhythm, but eventually I became more competitive towards the end of the race. We take the experience in, continue to learn, and I look forward to going to Sachsenring next week.”

Michele Pirro – P16

“There is little to say. I am just happy to have completed the race without making mistakes. The first few laps were really difficult and it’s a shame because the feeling in the warm-up wasn’t bad. We will try again at Misano on September”.

Raul Fernandez – P17

“I am really happy with the condition of my arm. Day by day on the bike I felt super good and we improved a lot. But today, after yesterday’s crash I felt very bad in the race. At the beginning, I was behind Maverick (Viñales) and Miguel and we were catching up to Aleix (Espargaro) on some laps, I’m not sure why but in the middle of the race I was starting to feel bad but was still trying to push more. At one moment of the race, I felt really bad, I’m not sure if it’s due to the crash or for something I ate, but I vomited on the bike. I tried to end the race but I didn’t have any power left. In general my body was not good and I felt very tired. MotoGP is super competitive now, if you are not at 100% you wouldn’t be able to do it. In the end, I am happy but I want to say sorry to the team. In Sachsenring, we will try our best again. Riding here in Mugello I already felt very well and Sachsenring is a track, that I like.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P18

“I am satisfied with the work we did this weekend and the pace we demonstrated, even if the results don’t fully render the idea. I was battling in the points zone today. I felt good and fast until around mid-race when I completely lost the feeling with the front end. We’ll investigate what caused it, but unfortunately, when this happens, the only thing you can do is finish the race.”

Jonas Folger – P19

“It was a difficult race today, I was hoping to make some improvements as I mentioned yesterday. However, I still had the same issues than in the Sprint, and they were even more accentuated because the race was a bit slower, with difficult conditions towards the end. Anyway, I learned a lot, and we have a lot of information to analyse with the engineers in order to fix these issues for the future, in my next testing. I hope that Pol Espargaro will be able to be in Sachsenring, and if so, I would like to thank GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 for this opportunity and for welcoming me with open arms.”

Marc Marquez – DNF 

“Today I was riding really well and with some margin, I was feeling comfortable and not stressed. I saw Bagnaia and Martin had escaped so I focused on staying with Marini in that group and trying to achieve my goal of the top six or seven. I had a moment at Turn 10 on the first lap and then again going into the last corner before I fell. Right now we need to keep improving and keep working. Fortunately, I was not injured in the crash today and we have another race next week so it gives us a chance to keep working.”

Alex Marquez – DNF

“A real shame. After so much bad luck we decided to go all-in for the podium. Maybe I should have been happy with a top-five finish but I wanted to give it all and try. I made a small mistake at turn three as I was too much on the inside and touched the white line. The team’s home GP was important for me, too. We showed once again that we could hang in there but I need more experience with the bike. When the grip level is high everything is good, but when it’s very hot I struggle to find the limit.”

Miguel Oliveira – DNF

“I‘m happy that I was back. It was a weekend where the progression was there. I had speed, I had the pace. I just couldn’t finish the race, which was a shame. I saw myself in a position where I could maybe challenge for the top 10 and I was very hopeful I could do it. At the end, this was my second long race this year and I’m happy that I managed to do at least half of it and be competitive. The good thing is, we have another race next weekend. Then we can hopefully turn things around and give the whole crew the result that they deserve.”

Team Managers

Claudio Domenicali – CEO Ducati Motor Holding

“Mugello is the home of Pecco, it was a really beautiful race. Being on the grid before the start, with the national anthem and the Frecce, was a bit emotional and then finishing like this with the victory it could not have been better. I really have to thank all the people back home who are not here with us, the team itself has never been so united as this year. This result depends on the work that everyone does, Pecco is the goalscorer. There is so much work done behind the scenes by the guys who work in the shadows, who should be thanked, and it also gives me great pleasure that they keep the Italian flag flying high.”

Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager

“It’s probably our best race ever, we’ve never put four bikes in front of everyone and the fact that we’re doing it here at home makes me happy. The goal is always to score as many points as possible for the world championship; this is what we have to do at every track, and not lose focus on other not so important goals. In the first lap, Pecco was good at keeping up with Miller and getting ahead as soon as possible. In my opinion, Enea had a wonderful race. He started higher than I expected, he fought, won duels and got into the top ten.”

Pablo Nieto – Mooney VR46 Team Manager

“A real pity: fourth place for Luca, right in the slip stream of the very first guys and eighth place for Marco who was unable to impose his pace. In any case, Luca did something impressive, we thought it was impossible to repeat yesterday’s P5 on the long distance, but instead he didn’t give up until the checkered flag. Great work and credit to him, but also to the Team and our physio. It was a complicated Sunday for Marco, something happened and he didn’t get what he hoped for. He brings home a solid result in the Sprint and will be able to recover in a few days at the Sachsenring. Thanks also to our partners who joined us here on the track for this weekend full of emotions.”

Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“There was a lot of expectation around this GP because we know that Mugello is a very special track and it is very demanding. We were keen to get here and to understand where we are with our current race package. Brad’s 5th place was not bad but our expectations are higher. Still, the top five is our target every race. Jack did a good job today but said he lacked some feeling on the track from the start and couldn’t push as he wanted. Overall, the achievement of the top speed record is in the books. Let’s go to Sachsenring with a lot of confidence. We’ll be on track again very soon and hoping for good results.”

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Team Director

“We knew that today‘s race was going to be tough. Mugello is physically and mentally demanding and 23 laps in 27 degrees is hard work. Like yesterday, it‘s the qualifying position that hampered our riders‘ results. Fabio rode with the medium rear tyre because of the heat, but the soft rear that Franky used proved the better option in the end. All in all, it‘s been a weekend to forget. We take today’s points and quickly move on to the German GP. Having back-to-back rounds is good for us because it gives us the opportunity to retaliate quickly.”

Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Team Manager

“This point scored by Augusto Fernandez today brings a happy ending to a difficult weekend in Mugello. He struggled with the set up of his bike, with the track, which is one of the most difficult of the season. I would like to congratulate him on his attitude, although it was not easy, he never gave up and pushed all the way through. He had a difficult race start today, was struggling to find both grip and pace, but he stayed on his wheels, pushed, tried to understand how everything was working, and came back step by step. He managed to find his pace, even overtook a few riders. The last laps of the race were really good, even better than most of the class’, pushed until getting his P15, and scored one point. For this, we are very happy for him: this is the way to learn, and he has been working this way since the beginning. Unfortunately, Jonas Folger rode wide in the last corner at the start of the race, and lost contact with the rest of the riders from this point. He focused on staying on his bike, which is what he did. Decent result for us considering how the weekend went, time to pack quickly and travel to Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix next week.”

Razlan Razali – CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Principal

“It was a difficult weekend for Miguel and Raul. Although, in some ways we expected it, being them coming from an injury like that, yet we have glimpses of good double scoring position for both riders. But unfortunately while battling for 12th, Miguel low-sided and crashed behind Fabio Quartararo thus remained Raul who was fighting for some points. Unfortunately, his condition did not allow him to keep up the pace and he dropped down outside of the points and was not feeling too great after the race. Most important is that the riders are okay and able to go to Sachsenring with some level of health fitness. We just have to reset, recuperate quickly and get ready for the next round.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Manager

“Looking back when we came here with two injured riders, our target was clearly to recover. After the first two days, we were quite pleased with the situation because Raul felt better with the arm, he was very fast on the first day, but had two big crashes on the second day and hit the head, also he came back from a little bit of flu last week. In the race, especially the main race, he struggled physically because he was not fit and he had to throw up, he was probably not strong enough to do a 45 minutes race. Miguel was fitter than we expected, after his injury in Jerez, I honestly did not expect him to complete this weekend. The target was also clear for him for the race, we tried to get some points and get a good feeling from the main race. Unfortunately, in Arrabbiata due, he lost the front but overall did not injure himself further. He was in 13th together with Fabio Quartararo, he did more than we expected except for the crash. Let’s focus on Sachsenring, the boys have a couple days of rest and we will be higher in motivation.”

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2023 MotoGP Calendar