From Grid Penalty to Glorious Finish: Ducati Dominates as Bastianini Snatches Second and Martin Settles for Third
Francesco Bagnaia delivered a stunning performance at Mugello, overcoming a grid penalty to secure victory. Demoted from second to fifth due to the penalty, Bagnaia took the lead at Turn 2 on the opening lap and maintained his position, ultimately winning by 0.8 seconds over his teammate Enea Bastianini. Championship leader Jorge Martin finished third.
Bagnaia’s race began with a brilliant start from fifth place, swiftly moving to second at Turn 1 by taking the outside line. He then overtook Martin at Turn 2, seizing the lead. Once in front, Bagnaia set a series of fastest laps, initially widening the gap between him and Martin. Although Martin managed to reduce the deficit to 0.6 seconds at the race’s midpoint, Bagnaia maintained his lead.
In the final laps, Martin closed the gap to less than three-tenths, putting pressure on Bagnaia. However, Bagnaia responded to the challenge, pulling ahead and securing a double win at Mugello, having also triumphed in Saturday’s sprint race.
While Martin appeared set to finish second, Bastianini made a late surge, overtaking him at the final corner to secure a 1-2 finish for the factory Ducati team.
Marc Marquez spent much of the race behind Bastianini, making an error at Turn 1 on lap three, which brought Pedro Acosta from Tech3 GasGas into contention. After resisting Acosta, who also made a mistake at the final corner, Marquez resumed pressuring Bastianini. He finally overtook Bastianini with six laps remaining but couldn’t hold onto third place. Bastianini reclaimed the position on the penultimate lap and then overtook Martin.
Acosta emerged as the top KTM rider, finishing fifth. Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli secured his best result of the season in sixth place, followed by VR46 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Despite starting from the front row, Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales finished eighth, dropping behind Di Giannantonio in the latter stages. The top 10 was completed by Gresini’s Alex Marquez and factory KTM rider Brad Binder.
Aleix Espargaro finished 11th in a disappointing weekend for Aprilia, followed by Trackhouse duo Raul Fernandez in 12th and Miguel Oliveira in 14th, with VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi in between them. Yamaha’s Alex Rins secured the final championship point in 15th place.
Yamaha struggled to convert their practice pace into race results, with Fabio Quartararo finishing 18th behind KTM’s Jack Miller and wildcard entrant Pol Espargaro. Retirements included LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami, Honda’s Joan Mir, and Tech3’s Augusto Fernandez, who exited the race in frustration after pulling into the pits on lap three.
