Danilo Petrucci produced a masterclass at Mugello to claim an emotional maiden victory in MotoGP.
The Ducati rider went through an epic battle with Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso, in an exciting Italian Grand Prix. The three men could not be separated in the closing stages and the lead would change multiple times. However, Petrucci did everything he could to ensure he won his home race.
Marquez increases his championship advantage over Dovizioso with second. The reigning champion now has a 12-point lead over the Italian. Dovizioso, although happy for Petrucci, will be disappointed to drop more points.
Alex Rins fought through the field to secure fourth spot. A podium was on the cards, however the Suzuki simply lacked the speed down the long home straight.
Takaaki Nakagami clinched his best-ever result in MotoGP in fifth, with Maverick Viñales benefiting from late race pace to secure sixth.
Michele Pirro finished seventh on his wildcard appearance for Ducati. Cal Crutchlow started well but ultimately struggled in the closing stages. As a result, the Brit ended the race in eighth.
Pol Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo completed the top 10. Quartararo never recovered from a messy start, where he almost clashed with team-mate, Franco Morbidelli.
The fans will be thankful that an Italian won the race, given that Valentino Rossi crashed out early on. The fan favourite struggled all weekend, and this is a race he’ll want to forget.
Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller both crashed on their special Lamborghini Pramic Ducati machines. Morbidelli also crashed out of the race.
Marquez and Dovizioso made fantastic starts, with the former going from ninth to second by the final turn. Behind them, Quartararo and Morbidelli almost tripped over one another and, as a result, fell down the order.
Crutchlow was inside the top three as well. However, he would soon fall behind the Ducati duo of Petrucci and Miller. Rins also went by following his fantastic start.
Rins, Petrucci and Miller were having an enthralling battle for third. Meanwhile, Marquez was comfortably leading at the front.
However, a mistake on lap six pushed Marquez back down into fifth. Petrucci was the new race leader, with Dovizioso slotting in behind his team-mate. Morbidelli crashed out at the end of the lap.
Marquez used the speed of the Honda to fly by Rins down the straight. He would try to force his way by Miller too, however the Australian was having none of it.
The crowd’s worst nightmare came true on lap eight, with Rossi losing the front at turn nine. The nine-time champion’s weekend never got going.
Meanwhile, Dovizioso hit the front on the following lap. There was a fantastic battle going on between Marquez, Rins and Miller for the final podium spot. The trio would swap places multiple times.
Rins managed to edge away and momentarily took the lead. However, the main issue for Suzuki is straight line speed. Rins would lose out to both factory Ducati riders and Marquez down the straight.
Over the next few laps, Bagnaia and Miller would crash. Miller lost control at turn five, moments after setting the fastest lap of the race.
Further down the order, Viñales was once again showing late race pace. He caught and passed Quartararo, before setting his sights on Crutchlow. He made his move with six laps remaining.
With five laps remaining, Dovizioso made his move and took the lead. He tried to break away, however Petrucci fought back immediately.
The top three were inseparable, with Rins watching carefully in fourth. The race-winning moment came at turn one on the final lap.
Dovizioso went into turn one too hot, pushing him and Marquez wide. There was a gap and Petrucci forced his way by, sitting Dovizioso up in the process. This win clearly meant everything to Petrucci.
Marquez was right behind Petrucci for the entire lap, although he could perhaps have been passed by Dovizioso heading into the final turn. Petrucci got the power down early and managed to cross the line first.
