2024 Mugello MotoGP Race Result: The Maestro At Work 

By Zara Daniela |

The skies started to clear ahead of the premier class race, allowing the familiar fighter jets to loudly open the show and also the azzurro rocketship of Pecco Bagnaia to rock and roll its way to the top step of the podium. The reigning world champion completed a dream weekend in Mugello with a dominating victory on Sunday and was joined by his teammate in the celebrations - Enea Bastianini riding an impressive final two laps to steal second place and make his return to the podium. Jorge Martin did well to stay in victory contention after struggling somewhat throughout the weekend, and the Spaniard took the final trophy on offer.

Martin was only briefly in control of hostilities at the start, as Bagnaia made an impeccable launch to immediately attack his rival at turn two. Bastianini also took advantage of a modest start from Marc Marquez, to get ahead of the Spaniard, while Pedro Acosta quickly joined them in the top five. As the sole rider on the medium rear tyre, Maverick Viñales struggled most at the start, dropping from the front row of the grid to 6th position, with Franco Morbidelli, Aleix Espargaro, Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio completing the top 10 on the opening lap. Brad Binder couldn’t quite replicate the best of his starts but was quickly knocking at the doors of the top 10 and then got stuck there once he made it in.  

Bagnaia ran a hot pace as soon he hit the front, and a mistake from Martin at the first corner briefly allowed the Italian some breathing room of around half a second, although the poleman was quick to close back in. Marquez was keen to get past Bastianini and join the victory battle, but a failed move at the first corner invited Acosta to get in the mix. The Spaniards’s exchanges gave Bastianini a bit of space, but it was short-lived as Marquez reeled him back in, with Acosta and Morbidelli in tow. 

Back at the front, Bagnaia was enjoying a more comfortable seven tenths of advantage after a handful of laps, Martin trying to match the leader’s pace but only making modest gains over the next few laps. Bastianini was yet to show his Pramac rival a wheel but the two were in very close proximity by lap eight. However, Martin did not have too much reason for concern at that early stage, as the threat didn’t seem to materialise and the Italian dropped six tenths back over the next few laps. Marquez was still struggling to find a way past Bastianini for third, but had dropped Acosta by a second, who in turn was untroubled by the Morbidelli-Viñales battle for 6th – the duo over a second behind the rookie. 

With less of a worry from behind, Martin decided the halfway point of proceedings was a good time to have another try at reeling in Bagnaia and briefly closed to within half a second, but the gap always insisted on returning back to seven tenths. Four tenths of a second was the smallest deficit Martin could achieve over the next few laps, but Bagnaia always responded to maintain his advantage going into the final six laps. Meanwhile, Bastianini was still holding onto third despite having Marquez glued to his rear wheel, as the Gresini man couldn’t find the extra bit of speed to slide past at the first corner. It took until six laps remaining for Marquez to make his move for the podium at San Donato but by that time he found himself 1.2 seconds behind Martin. Given the rapid pace still being set at the front, the Spaniard could only find a couple of tenths in the next few laps and his focus switched back to fending off perpetually late bloomer Bastianini. 

While Bastianini was looking for an opportunity, attention moved back to the leaders, as Martin started the penultimate lap suddenly only two tenths of a second behind Bagnaia, helped by a slow lap from the leader. The panic was brief, if any, as Bagnaia quickly regrouped to regain his advantage and start the final lap nearly a second ahead. Meanwhile, Bastianini barged past Marquez at turn 10 on the penultimate lap and quickly detached himself from the Spaniard, his usual late pace bringing him within a couple tenths of Martin for the final lap. It seemed like too little too late but turns out it wasn’t, and the Italian snuck through at the final corner to claim second. Martin got resigned to third, while Marquez took the chequered flag in fourth one second later. Acosta finished in a lonely fifth position, with Morbidelli defending sixth from Di Giannantonio and Viñales, while Alex Marquez and Binder completed the top 10. 

Bagnaia’s perfect weekend on home soil helps him get within 18 points of world championship leader Martin, while Marquez loses a bit of ground with a 35-point deficit. Bastianini recovers slightly in 4th, 57 points behind the leader. 

Results:

Pos No. Rider Bike Time/Diff
1 1 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 40:51.385
2 23 Enea Bastianini Ducati 0.799
3 89 Jorge Martin Ducati 0.924
4 93 Marc Marquez Ducati 2.064
5 31 Pedro Acosta KTM 7.501
6 21 Franco Morbidelli Ducati 9.890
7 49 Fabio Di Giannantonio Ducati 10.076
8 12 Maverick Viñales Aprilia 11.683
9 73 Alex Marquez Ducati 13.535
10 33 Brad Binder KTM 15.901
11 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 19.182
12 25 Raul Fernandez Aprilia 20.307
13 72 Marco Bezzecchi Ducati 20.346
14 88 Miguel Oliveira Aprilia 23.292
15 42 Alex Rins Yamaha 23.613
16 43 Jack Miller KTM 28.417
17 44 Pol Espargaro KTM 28.778
18 20 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 30.622
19 5 Johann Zarco Honda 31.457
20 10 Luca Marini Honda 32.310
21 32 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia 46.724
Not Classified
  30 Takaaki Nakagami Honda 16:15.226
  36 Joan Mir Honda 10:52.470
  37 Augusto Fernandez KTM 07:17.845
2024
7
MotoGP
Mugello, Italy
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Comments

I really enjoyed this race. Basto coming through the last two laps to put Martin and MM further behind his teammate was incredible. Pecco hitting the front by T2 from his demotion at 5th on the grid also very cool. 85K fans at Mugello, going crazy...that's a yawn??

Each to his own but I loved watching this race. What a great track.

Pity to see such a wonderful track despoiled by a processions. I found myself praying for rain. We seem to have exchanged a 4 horse factory bike competition between Yamaha and Honda with a 3 horse competition between factory Ducatis.

BTW, the latest second coming seems to still be a ways from arriving. There’s no doubt he’s good (Acosta) but I’m not yet convinced all the others need to hang up their leathers.

Pedro is being beaten by 3 GP24's and a GP23 with an 8-time World Champion on it. He is finishing ahead of everyone else. He passed Jack Miller, Brad Binder, Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia (twice) in succession, on an inferior bike to all of them. What more could he possibly be doing? He is the best. Equal  bikes - everyone else is racing for 2nd.

I think Pedro is doing great. But I’m wondering if Ducati may have jumped the gun signing Aldeguer. Fermin’s weekend wasn’t great and all of the current Borgo Panigale riders did well. Not sure they need new blood yet. 

Bagnaia - he keeps proving why he’s a back to back world champion. (One of my favorite riders)

Bastianini - reminds us all why Ducati chose him for the factory team. Won’t help him keep his spot, but definitely has other teams taking note. (One of my favorite riders)


Martin - not a great weekend, but not a disaster either. He and Pecco will most likely be battling it out until November, each trading exceptional weekends and good-enough weekends, along with the occasional flubs. (One of my favorite riders)


M Marquez  - terrific weekend. Nothing more, nothing less.

Acosta - great weekend for the Shark. I have to keep reminding myself that he’s just a rookie. (One of my favorite riders)

Morbidelli - fantastic weekend. His best since I don’t know when. Not a rider I particularly like, but I’m happy for him nonetheless.

Di Giannantonio - another very fine weekend from Digia! He’s more than proven he belongs in the premier class. It will be interesting to see where he ends up next season. (One of my favorite riders)

Viñales - a very solid weekend from Maverick. I am getting the strong feeling that the drop from his epic stretch earlier this year is more about the bike than him. (One of my favorite riders)

A Marquez - a very solid weekend for Alex. I hope this is a turning point for his season.

Binder - not bad but not great. Still, a definite step in the right direction. Plus, it appears his factory seat is secure for next season. So, all in all a positive weekend for Binder.

A Espargaro - a middling weekend for Aleix. But that’s okay after last weekend’s fairytale. 

R Fernandez - another good weekend for Raul. He may well hold on to his seat for another year.

Bezzecchi - a very mediocre weekend for Marco. Digi is consistently outshining him, and it’s not a good look. I hope things start to improve soon. (One of my favorite riders)

Oliveira - a terrible weekend for Miguel. This season has not been what I expected for him. It really feels this could be his last season in MotoGP.

Rins - I was happy to see the old spark back in qualifying. But the race results were not good. Hopefully the qualifying is a hint at better days to come.


Miller - another terrible weekend on the track. Oh and he lost his factory seat. A really terrible weekend.

P Espargaro - so happy to see Pol back on the grid. And he did a fine job doing what he’s now paid to do. Plus, he did it after a half year of not racing. Impressive.

Quartararo - a disastrous weekend for Fabio. Sure it wasn’t all his doing, but he was outclassed by Rins all weekend and had a terrible result in the race GP (one of my favorite riders)

Zarco - at this point, just finishing races on a Honda appears to be a decent accomplishment. But still, there wasn’t much to write home about. He wasn’t has fast as Mir in qualifying or in either race, but making it to the checkered flag is something.

Marini - a tiny bit of an improvement over prior weekend. But still terrible. Not crashing because he’s not pushing might be smart, but it isn’t exactly heroic. 

Salvadori - he’s doing what he’s paid to do, which is good enough.

Nakagami - a disappointing weekend, but at least he still seems to be pushing more this season than last.

Mir - the good was that he was the fastest Honda in qualifying and in both races. That is until a technical issue ended his sprint race and a very typical lose-the-front ended the GP. Mir is my favorite rider, so I’m wondering when the torture will end for him and for me. Can I start crying now?

A Fernandez - a spectacularly awful race weekend. Couldn’t happen to a nicer, more thoughtful guy. But that wont save him his seat in the premier class. 


 

Let me explain what I really mean. I currently have 9 riders (I’ll take your word as I didn’t count them) that I feel good about when they do well and feel bad for when they do poorly. So, “favorites” isn’t really the right word. So, I only have one true favorite… Joan Mir. And yes it’s been a miserable two years being emotionally attached to his career. But I’m a very loyal person. So I’ll always support him as long as he chooses to race. 

That Motogp race was a Mugello donut without the jelly or sugar. Just tasteless dough with a giant pocket of stale air in the middle. Morbidelli passed another rider! You could see it on the screen at the beginning of the race. And Marquez the Bastianini put in some passes (three total) near the end of the race. I remember four passes in all. Maybe there were more, but due to the depth of the hypnotic trance, any weak impression might have failed to register. Aleix said for half the race he was at the limit of his ability to control the bike. One more lap and he would have had to pit. Neil said something about Quartararo's arms being destroyed. It seems that the manufacturers not named Ducati are designing motorcycles that are pushing the riders' physical limitations in the quest to bridge the gap to the leaders of the pack. Mir seems to have adopted Marc's old philosophy of continuously throwing RCVs at air fences and rubble until HRC brings a winner. '21-'23 Mugello winning race times are in a tight group within 2.5 seconds. This year's race destroyed the previous race winning time record by over 25 seconds, and this year's top 15 riders' race times are inside any previous race winning time. Incredibly fast, yet what a boring race. Who'da thunk that Austin and Florence could have been mistaken for each other this year? Assen will probably be a stunner. Just to keep a guy guessing. 

Aleix to Honda Test...wow! Ok. Anyone else surprised? I assumed he would want to stay in the Aprilia family and that Black would feel likewise.

Good move on Honda's part right? He should be great. Fresh off of racing, tons of experience bring struggling bikes forward. Knowledge of getting lots out of a bike that is not ideal. And what a rider friendly bike ought to feel like. Good for them both I guess?

Agree on it being a good move.

He'll certainly get some good money for it and when things do work out for Honda in the long (my guess) run, he can put another feather on his cap.

He's been at Aprillia for so long. The bike needs no major developments, just evolutions and tweaks. It's already his bike if you ask me.

Also I think switching to test rider in the same (small) brand won't bring much 'new' into his life.

Great new adventure for him to go on. Having a wife and kis, I can only recommend some time away from home from time to time anywayz. And if that's riding bikes, all the better.

Every race is not going to be 2015 PI or Catalunya 2009 guys. 1 OK race after 6 amazing ones doesn't mean the sport is doomed or whatever. It's possible to be passionate about the sport without being so hyperbolic and reactionary. Some of you guys are like passing addicts looking for a bigger and bigger hit.

I personally was kind of glued to the whole race and found it interesting. Ducati cup or not I do feel like the guys at the front are at least among the fastest/most talented- which is how/why they got those seats. 

As a TD novice wobbling my way around a local track, just one corner of JM's pole lap put the insanity of MotoGP bikes into focus. Braking into Bucine, JM hit a top speed of about 175MPH/280kmh. Just off that short straight after the Biondetti chicane. Then coming out of Bucine, by the time he got the bike upright- before the pit lane opening- it's back up to about 150MPH/250kph. At my local track which has a back straight fed by a long ~3rd gear sweeper pro riders on liter bikes might hit 160-170MPH into the speed traps. Hell after about 60-70 laps on a bike with maybe 1/5th the power of a MotoGP bike I'm fried. So any talk of how "easy" MotoGP bikes are to ride is insanity IMO.

I agree, the race was processional, but not without entertainment value. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Acosta and Marquez to take each other out, then Marquez and Bastianini, or maybe just Martin throwing it down the road all by his lonesome. Enea’s last minute charge was fantastic - it’s a shame it’s taken him this long to return to form. …and yes, coverage including riders other than those at the pointy end of the field would be welcome, too.

The race stared out exciting, then went for a long stretch where I was a little bored, but not so bored that I looked away. Them got really exciting in the final lap or two. And yes, the lack of any focus on interesting things going on further back was typical of Dorna and rather unfortunate. I hope this is something Liberty can improve upon.

Seems like the majority here feel that is true. And I do get it! 

But I'd disagree. Have you ever seen The Usual Suspects? The Sixth Sense? Sometimes the finish makes the whole race worthwhile.

If we're going to say that every time the lead rider has a .601 second lead that the race is a snooze we're missing the fun.