Riders and Team Managers reflect on the Italian GP at Mugello

MotoGP 2022 – Round Eight
Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley

Francesco Bagnaia – P1

“For us Italians, this is a very important race, so this is definitely a special victory. Mugello is a challenging track, but we worked all weekend perfectly to achieve this result, and we did it. Yesterday in FP3, I destroyed the bike, but my team worked so hard to allow me to use it today in the race, so I have to thank them! After the start, I found myself bottled up, and some riders passed me. I knew that by staying calm, I could make a comeback. I’m happy, and I think we really deserved this win.”

Fabio Quartararo – P2

“I didn‘t think that the podium was possible today. But before the race I believed in myself and said ’I have the pace to be in the top 5 today‘ and we did a second place. That was, I think, one of the best races of my career. Of course, I would have preferred to win, but I‘m pleased to be on the podium after a tough race like this one. I made a good start and did good overtakes, despite sliding with the front and rear. Before the race I wasn‘t feeling that good on the bike. During the race it was not perfect, but it was better, and I could feel where the limit was. I love riding my bike, I was having a lot of fun, and I could get a really good result. We did a massive job!”

Aleix Espargaro – P3

“I’m obviously happy with this podium but I must be honest: I would have liked to win today. Maybe if I had been a bit more aggressive in qualifying and in the opening laps, I would have been able to stay closer to Pecco and Fabio. The reality is that all the riders are extremely fast and they don’t make mistakes, so overtaking is not at all easy. But we must not make excuses. We must work hard to keep improving. In any case, it was great to be on the podium for the fourth time in a row and to do it right here in Mugello – in Italy. We’ll see if we can find a little something more next weekend and battle for the win.”

Johann Zarco – P4

“I’m satisfied with this weekend, I’m happy with the way I handled the race and I did my best to take the podium. We have worked hard and the results have been seen, the feeling with the bike has improved a lot and if we can keep these feelings also in Barcelona we can aim for important positions.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P5

“I am very happy with this Sunday: a great race, I really enjoyed it. I got off to a good start, I tried to give my best. And then what an emotion to have been leading the MotoGP race for the first time right at Mugello. Before the start I said to myself: I want to make the most of the great job of the whole Team and Ducati and entertain the fans in the stands and at home. I have done my best. Many thanks to all of you for the incredible support.”

Luca Marini – P6

“A good race and a good result, especially if we look at the gap from the P1 which has been greatly reduced. We got closer to victory and the podium and this is the result of the work done by the whole Team in the last few GPs. We knew from yesterday that we were missing something to fight for the top three, but we tried to give our best in front of the home crowd who supported us all weekend. Let’s start from here to make other steps forward in Catalunya and get closer and closer.”

Brad Binder – P7

“It was a weekend full of ups-and-downs. It was a challenge to find something that I could understand and getting comfortable on the track wasn’t easy. After warm-up this morning however I had a clear idea of what I needed to do to make a step and have a good race. The team did a great job to give me that possibility. I felt strong, especially in the last ten laps. We still need to work on our speed and pace with new tires. I lost time at the beginning but could pull it back by the end. I’m also a bit frustrated today because I know we could have done a bit better than what we did. We just didn’t have the speed at the start but we do have a lot of data now from the changes we made this weekend and I hope that will help us for next weekend in Barcelona.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P8

“It was a really tough race, especially at the beginning when it was difficult to find good speed and I lost a couple of positions. I dropped to P12, but then in the second part of the race I overtook Marc (Marquez), (Fabio ) Di Giannantonio and Oliveira. Those two laps in a row were really good riding and at the end we were able to finish P8, so another top-10. Top Honda is a really good result for us, but we still need to improve the bike performance. Let’s see what we can do at the next race at Montmelo.”

Miguel Oliveira – P9

“A nice race and we could be competitive. I found my rear grip dropping a lot, more than I expected and that affected my pace. I think I could have finished nearer the group ahead. Anyway, we got a top ten position and that was important for me and the team after the non-score in Le Mans. I am going to Barcelona motivated and eager to do better.”

Marc Marquez – P10

“It was a tough race, like we were expecting. I gave everything in the first seven laps to see if I had the speed of the front riders and our pace wasn’t bad but then I started to struggle physically. I kept calm, I was riding with a comfortable rhythm, and I worked on understanding where we were losing compared to other bikes. The target was to give constructive comments to the team, and we achieved it. Now we have the most important ‘race’ of the season next week. It was difficult to concentrate because I know that next week is very important for my career, but I am proud to have done this race. I look forward to seeing everyone again soon.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P11

“First of all, it’s great to start on pole at Mugello and lead on the opening lap. That and the Mugello crowed were really impactful on this experience. Too bad for the race, as I think a faulty tyre made things a bit more difficult. I never found the same feeling I had throughout the weekend and I struggled in keeping the bike stable. We could have stayed in the second group and battle for 7th/8th place, but we still made another step forward.”

Maverick Vinales – P12

“When I saw my pace at the end of the race, I was a bit annoyed! Once again, it was my starting position on the grid that penalised me heavily because then in the race I was able to be fast and overtake a lot of riders. On one hand, I find that satisfying but on the other, it shows us that we need to be more ambitious. Because the potential is there. The feeling is improving race after race and we really just need a small improvement to take a substantial step forward and bring home the results we’re missing.”

Jorge Martín – P13

“We are slowly regaining confidence, today my arm didn’t hurt so much and I was able to finish the race without too much pain. We’ll use the race in Barcelona as a ‘test’ to regain the confidence we lost and get back to fighting for the top positions.”

Álex Márquez – P14

“Overall, it wasn’t a bad weekend for us, we know that we need to improve more, but in our situation it’s not a bad weekend. We were P14, fighting for P13, I gave 100% on every lap and was trying to be focused and intense right from the first moment. We want more, I definitely want more, we are still missing the pace of the front guys. But this race was better than the other races. We take the positives from here and we now go to my home GP in Barcelona, it’s a track that I really like. We’ll be there next week, motivated, giving our all at my home GP. Last, I’d like to thank to my team for their work this weekend.”

Jack Miller – P15

“I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Mugello, and this year didn’t exactly change my mind about that. For whatever reason here it’s never really worked out for me, I love the track and everything about this place but the results have never really been there. I came here wanting more than one point this weekend, that’s for sure. 

“It all started pretty well too, I was third after Friday… and then Saturday was just one of those days you get when things start bad and get worse. We started the day with the bike stopping on my first lap in FP3 so I had to use my second bike for the rest of the session, and the only option we had with how that bike was set up was to go with the pre-heated tyres that I got a terrible feeling with on Friday. I was able to improve but not enough, so I fell out of the top 10 and that left me in Q1. From there, it was all downhill. 

“The weather came in for qualifying… I was fast and pushing in the conditions but I had Marc (Marquez) and Fabio (Di Giannantonio) behind me and I was like the donkey towing them around. I was fast, but they used me as a reference and were faster than me, and that was me out in Q1 and stuck way down the grid. You don’t know really how hard you can push because there’s rain all the time on your visor, but those guys behind you can use you as a marker to see how hard they can push. You never want to be the first one in that situation, it’s definitely easier to be behind. Fabio ended up getting pole so you can’t help but wonder… it’s just unfortunate. We pushed the maximum and didn’t get what we wanted. With it being so hard to overtake in MotoGP now, especially here… yeah, Saturday was just an unlucky day and left me on the back foot. 

“I needed things to go right fast on Sunday, and it went the other way – I was 12th on the grid and finished the first lap 22nd, so that wasn’t ideal. I was wide on the grass on the outside after the start, got hung out at the first corner, got beaten up by a few of the boys… wasn’t great. I was able to make a few passes and a few guys came off in front of me, but all the damage was done by then. 

“I made it hard work for myself and I tried to come through, but I got caught up with (Jorge) Martin and (Alex) Marquez, and just couldn’t find a way by. Each lap was the same – I’d lose a lot coming into the last corner and then catch up towards the first corner, but was never able to catch up enough to make a decent attack. I sent it in a couple of times from a long way back but I was losing the front, and running a little bit wide. I could never get close enough to actually do something. So, 15th and one point – better than zero, but not a lot better. 

“I’m pissed off with my day, but it is what it is. All we can do is try to improve next week in Barcelona, so hopefully it’s better there.”

Darryn Binder – P16

“It was a good race for me. I’m really happy with how things went. I managed to get a good start and in the first couple of laps, I was in quite an alright position. Unfortunately, I had to take a long lap, which lost me a couple of seconds, but I managed to come back in and fight my way up a little bit further. I had quite a good pace throughout the race. I feel like I’ve made a step forward in the right direction. I’ve found that front feeling that I was looking for, and I was able to just ride the race like how I wanted and push every lap and be precise. I was really close to the points, I feel like if I didn’t have to do the long lap, I would have scored points today. But overall I think I did a good job this weekend.”

Franco Morbidelli – P17

“Starting from the 23rd position was tough, but I caught up with the riders in front of me fighting. I was in 16th position. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get into the group fighting for the points. Darryn Binder was behind me all of the race but then used the slipstream to overtake me by 0.031s at the finish line. But overall we made some improvements. We’ll try to improve other things in Barcelona.”

Michele Pirro – P18

“It was not an easy race. The feeling with the bike was not the best, especially under braking. It’s a shame because I was convinced I had the potential to bring home some points. Confidence remains high: we will try again next Sunday in Barcelona”.

Remy Gardner – P19

“I am happy that I finished the race because I was feeling very good physically. Mugello is a very difficult track, and even in Moto2 last year, it was difficult. Today I was able to give my best at every lap, so I am happy with myself. The MotoGP bike is a big beast to ride so it was a positive step we made this weekend.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P20

“Today, I was struggling with the speed in the corners. I really didn’t have the pace from the first lap, so I couldn’t stay with the two Yamaha as that was the plan. I’m very disappointed with that. I couldn’t try the hard front tyre in the practice, maybe it was a bit better because they were using that. In any case, I was struggling for not being able to be faster in the way the Yamaha requests it, so it was far from ideal.”

Raul Fernandez – P21

“It was a difficult race today. The start was not too bad but then it got complicated quickly and was like that until the end. I was struggling to turn properly and was unable to give my best. We will work on trying to get a different setting for the Catalan Grand Prix which I hope will give us more potential to be faster and more efficient. I felt a big drop of grip with my rear tyre which was difficult to deal with towards the end of the race. Hopefully we’ll find solutions for next week.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P22

“There were quite a few positive points this weekend in terms of our work on the RS-GP and I’m happy about that. Unfortunately, I had a technical problem in the race that didn’t keep me from racing but it obviously kept me from maintaining my pace. In any case, after the pit stop with the tyres cooled down, I was still able to make up ground on the group. Let’s just say that a race battling with some other riders would have been possible. In any case, we need to look at the glass half-full and at an Aprilia that continues to be competitive!”

Pol Espargaro – DNF

“After the crash I am OK, it was a stupid mistake. I lost a lot of positions at the start and then I was fighting a lot with everyone in the first laps, so I lost more time. I was overtaking riders, they were overtaking me, I was struggling to get into the rhythm even though I knew I could be faster. When I was really trying, I then lost the front and fell, that’s it. Crashing at the start of a race is the most disappointing. Now we head to Barcelona and we pick ourselves up and go again – this is what we must do. I want to wish Marc all the best with what he now faces, he is always a great reference and rival to have.”

Alex Rins – DNF

“I was unlucky today, because I was gaining positions and feeling good, but then I was taken down by another rider. For me the move was too aggressive, and I went to Race Direction to express my concerns. On the previous lap between corners 10 and 11, I overtook Nakagami and he opened the throttle and blocked me. The next lap he did the same; he came round the outside and then we collided. Luckily, I’m not injured, but it was a shame for me. The next race is at a track I really like, I want to enjoy it, and we all want to return to form and show what we can do.”

Joan Mir – DNF

“This has been one of the worst races in my top class career, because I never managed to achieve the right feeling and it’s a real pity. I came to Mugello feeling very optimistic and we’ve been competitive here in the past, but things changed and it was the opposite to what I expected. Unfortunately I crashed out today, whilst braking a bit late on angle after taking a slipstream, but I’m OK. Now we need to investigate everything in detail before moving onto Barcelona, where I want to recover my feeling and achieve something nice.”

Enea Bastianini – DNF

“It’s a shame: we had a great pace, and I was fast. Unfortunately, I got sucked into by Aleix’s slipstream and got a bit too quick into turn four, and that led to my front-end tuck. With clear track ahead I was really fast, while it’s always hard in the slipstream at Mugello.”

Team Managers

Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager

“I am thrilled: Pecco had a fantastic race today despite being very difficult! All weekend we were losing a lot in the third sector while we were strong in the rest of the track, and Pecco managed this advantage well to keep Quartararo at the proper distance. He ran an intelligent race, and I really congratulate him on this success. It’s a shame for Jack, who had more difficulty today as he started so far back. We stay focused on the next Grand Prix in Barcelona in seven days”.

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“This second-place finish from Fabio is a fantastic achievement! It tastes almost like a victory, especially here! And it‘s even more impressive because Fabio wasn‘t feeling very confident this morning. To turn things around 180° – what a rider! This podium is a testament to how hard the team works until the very last minute to strive for the best results. Franco was starting from P23 on the grid and didn‘t have a good start. That is very tough to come back from, but he pushed on. He was able to recover some positions, but his overall result doesn‘t reflect his potential. We now move on to Barcelona. The Catalan GP and our team share a Title Sponsor: Monster Energy. We are highly motivated after today‘s podium to also give it some welly there!”

Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“A solid race in terms of the gap from the winner and the podium. The biggest problem comes when we start as far back as the fifth row; the margin by the first lap is still too big. We know we have to improve the qualifying. It’s the first step we have to make for a better race result. It is perhaps not enough to win right now but it will help to run with the leading group and to understand what we miss thanks to the riders’ comments and the data they can collect. We were brave in qualifying yesterday but it wasn’t enough and it was about who had the best ‘window’. We are looking to Barcelona now and we’re a bit more confident. It is another circuit where we can perform well. We also have another test and we have things to try, even though Barcelona can be quite strange and the conditions change quite a lot over the GP days and also the test so we have to be careful with our analysis and to get the right information. Still, we’re looking forward to this process.”

Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“The Italian Grand Prix is a wrap and I feel a bit lost because we finish the weekend with another tough result. The weekend was slightly better and we were definitely closer in qualifying, especially Remy Gardner who improved his feeling a lot on the KTM RC16. His time-attack was interesting, but in the race we were too far and were never really in the position to overtake other riders. A thirty-second gap from the top is not what makes Remy Gardner happy, and a forty-two second gap is not what Raul Fernandez wants, but I want to see the glass half full. When I see Brad Binder finishing four seconds from the race winner and was one of the fastest towards the end, I know that we can improve and we need to carry on providing the best technical and psychological support to our rookies. This is what we have done since the start, what we are doing, and what we will continue doing until the final checkered flag of the season. We as a team have to believe that we can do better because we have a strong package. The target is to close the gap with Brad and Miguel, and I am hoping that we head into this direction in Catalunya next week.”

Livio Suppo – Suzuki Team Manager

“It was a very difficult weekend, with neither of our riders finishing the race. For sure, this is not what we expected, but we’re glad that Joan and Alex are both fine. It’s also a good thing for us that we’ll go straight to Barcelona because we can forget this weekend quickly and set our sights on achieving something great at a circuit the riders like.”

Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager

“We arrived here with a lot of confidence, but things never really went according to plan, especially in qualifying. Because we started far down the grid, it meant that the race was also a struggle, and it was hard for the riders to recover positions. It’s a tough moment for us to have two more DNFs after Le Mans, and it’s difficult to accept. But we won’t give up and we’ll try again next week in Catalunya.”

Razlan Razali – Team Principal WithU Yamaha RNF

“Well the weekend of round eight in Mugello began with the news of our future plans for the next four years, we are quite excited for this new challenge. For the race, we are extremely happy with the performance of Darryn, we were concerned about his long lap penalty and how he will do thereafter. But he made an amazing start and was in a good position, he made his long lap and only lost 2.5 seconds. He showed his worthiness, competencies, capabilities and most importantly his talent to be competitive and managed to be the second best Yamaha rider in front of Franco Morbidelli. We hope that he will continue this momentum for the next round in Catalunya. We must thank the team especially his Crew Chief, Noe Herrera for being able to give him the setting that he likes on the M1.  With Andrea, we are simply lost for words in terms of how much he has struggled from qualifying to the race. We will have to sit down and discuss this next week and we need to find ways to turn his season around with 11 rounds to go. We look forward to Barcelona.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager WithU Yamaha RNF

“Well, finally a dry Mugello, which we hoped for. The start from Darryn was great as he went straight to P17, but with the long lap, of course he was back in P20. Having him battling with the boys, especially Franco and beating him in the last lap, made the team very proud to see and we celebrated that like a victory. Andrea of course is disappointed, he could not do the mid corner speed as he wanted. At the end of the race, he tried to make a little bit of a stop and go riding with the Yamaha, though we know that’s not really the way, but he went a bit faster. We need to work on that and try to get him out of this dip and try to find a better way for him to be faster around the race track. All in all, we are happy with that P16 by Darryn.”

Mugello 2022 MotoGP Race Results

MotoGP Event Top Speeds

MotoGP Championship Points Standings