Winner: Marc Marquez 

Perhaps it is a trifle obvious to call Marc Marquez a winner considering he left the Mugello circuit with all the points on offer over the Italian Grand Prix weekend. However, the fact remains that the Spaniard was expecting far more resistance from his Italian team-mate Francesco Bagnaia. 

Having just clinched pole position in the sprint, the older Marquez brother went backwards at the start after messing around with traction control settings moments before the lights went out. It hardly mattered as the six-time MotoGP champion easily had the pace to take the win and quickly recovered his place at the head of the pack. He called both his pole position and his sprint race victory a “great surprise,” clearly expecting more resistance from ‘Pecco’. 

The main race saw a better start for Marc Marquez, but also a more assertive Bagnaia. Marc Marquez’s brother, Alex Marquez, decided to join the party as well and the trio chopped and changed positions frantically in the opening stages of the race. 

All good things come to an end, however, and the first to drop down was Bagnaia after heavy contact with the rear of Marc Marquez’s bike on lap three, dulling his challenge somewhat. The championship leader took back the lead on lap nine from his brother and never looked back. 

Marc Marquez later called the 93rd victory of his career “unexpected” and probably anticipated a stronger challenge from his Italian team-mate in Bagnaia’s backyard. After a performance like that, the riders’ championship is pretty much done and dusted. No prizes for guessing in who’s favour. 

Loser: Francesco Bagnaia 

Oh dear. The rider who said “if I will not be competitive here, we can say there’s a problem” was truly in trouble at Mugello. Marc Marquez’s triumph in the main race ended a run of three consecutive victories at Mugello for Bagnaia and signalled just how deep the double MotoGP champion’s problems really are. 

Admittedly qualifying went well, and ‘Pecco’ lined up second on the grid just over five hundredths shy of his team-mate. But the sprint race, in comparison, was a relatively disappointing affair. 

After leading in the early laps due to Marc Marquez’s poor start, he was quickly passed by both Marquez brothers. He finished third but was understandably dejected. 

The main race showed signs of promise early on, as he battled his team-mate hard for the lead. By mid-distance, Bagnaia’s challenge had faded with his pace. He tried all he could but couldn’t keep Di Giannantonio at bay and dropped to fourth. 

The weekend raises a lot of concerns for the rest of the season. The brake disc fix of Aragon proved to be very much a band-aid solution and proved to be unsuitable for other tracks such as Mugello where the braking requirements are lower. Bagnaia ran the 340mm brake disc throughout Saturday and Sunday, and said he still lacks feel and confidence with the front end of his bike – but the real issue is that rather alarmingly he still doesn’t know how to fix it. 

Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images

Winner: Fabio Di Giannantonio 

If there was one rider who left Mugello a particularly happy bunny, it would be Fabio Di Giannantonio, who delivered a well-earned podium in the main race. 

Qualifying was the only average point of the weekend, after which the Italian was left unhappy due to missing out on the second row of the grid. In the sprint, an unlucky first corner meant he got shuffled wide, but ‘Diggia’ put in a neat performance to recover to fifth. 

The main race was far more fruitful, with the VR46 rider slotting into fourth after the clash between his team-mate Franco Morbidelli and Maverick Vinales. Diggia then turned up the heat and set his sights on the struggling Bagnaia, easing past with two laps to go. 

It was the first MotoGP podium on home soil for the Italian and a worthy reward for a good weekend’s work. 

Loser: Honda 

Mugello was essentially a glorified test session for Honda. Talking to the media after Sunday’s race, Joan Mir admitted that he was running different set-ups across all the sessions, even swapping out swing arms – an unusual task in the middle of a race weekend. 

Joan Mir, Honda HRC

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Qualifying was middling for Mir and Honda’s wildcard entry of Takaaki Nakagami, with both falling outside the top 15 riders. The sprint brought home no points, while the main race saw Mir finish in 11th. The factory team was nowhere in terms of pace, particularly struggling in the last sector. 

It’s not like LCR was doing any better either. Johann Zarco, who managed to qualify 14th, went out early after clashing with Brad Binder on the opening lap of the sprint. The French Grand Prix winner had the same luck in the main race, sliding out into retirement after just a handful of laps. 

The Honda bikes clearly don’t like low grip conditions and if the summer temperatures continue to degrade track conditions through strong heat, Honda may be in for a rough ride. 

Winner: Maverick Vinales 

He only came away with a fourth place in the sprint race, but Maverick Vinales still chalked up Mugello as a positive weekend. 

Friday was both unexpected and brilliant for the KTM rider as he emerged fastest at the end of the official practice session. Qualifying went well, lining up fifth on the grid. 

It’s clear that the KTMs, unlike the Honda and Yamaha bikes, enjoy the low grip conditions as evidenced at Mugello and Aragon. At Aragon, the track surface brought the resurgence in form, while Mugello’s high track temperature allowed KTM to be firmly in the mix. 

Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

After the combative fourth in the sprint race, a podium place went begging in the main race when Vinales was knocked off by Morbidelli. However, after the race, Vinales was strangely calm about the whole affair, mainly happy that KTM appears to be creeping its way towards the front of the grid. 

Loser: Fabio Quartararo 

Who doesn’t love a trier? The heavy crash during Friday practice caused a dislocated shoulder and a trip to the hospital for examination, but Fabio Quartararo was straight back to it on Saturday morning at Mugello. 

He put his discomfort to one side and delivered another one of his special qualifying laps to line up fourth on the grid, just two and a half tenths off Marc Marquez. An excellent achievement all things considered. 

The Yamahas, just like the Honda bikes, don’t like the low grip conditions and it showed. In the sprint, Quartararo tumbled down the order with excessive chatter and he ended up out of the points. In the main race, the bike was similarly uncooperative. He finished 14th, sandwiched by the two other remaining Yamahas, and labelled the bike “a real disaster” after the race on Sunday.  

The more worrying statement was the fact that the Frenchman didn’t understand why his team was suffering in the way it was. It could be a long summer for both the 2021 champion and the Yamaha team. At least Yamaha might have Honda for company at the back of the pack.