The Gran Premio d’Italia, the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, is up next for the MotoGP circus, with this eighth round of 21 set to light up the tarmac this coming weekend.
The riders will arrive in Italy resolute and determined to keep working on delivering their full potential.
The Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley is known for its high-speed straight, fast and flowing corners and hosting a number of incredible battles to the line in recent year. This will be the third set of back-to-back races in 2022 as the Catalan GP follows directly after.
This will be the first Italian GP without Valentino Rossi since 1994, so will Mugello be as mad as it’s been over the past two decades?
And can Ducati celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of its Desmosedici MotoGP bike with another Mugello victory?
Rossi remains a legend at his home race but two fellow Italians, Enea Bastianini (pictured here) and Pecco Bagnaia, could steal the show on Sunday.
Bastianini in Le Mans and Bangaia in Jerez are MotoGP’s two most recent race winners proving that there to life to Italian motorcycle racing post-Rossi.
Italian icon Rossi will be present at Mugello for a special ceremony to officially retire his No.46 this weekend, although the factory teams and race fans will likely be more focussed on the championship chase in progress.
Currently leading the way in the championship is French Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo (on 102 points), with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro (98 points) and Ducati’s Bastianini (94 points) close behind in the series standings.
Having taken sixth place in the previous round at the French Grand Prix, Honda’s multi-time former world champion Marc Marquez sits only tenth in the championship but he is only 15 points behind fourth-ranked Suzuki star Alex Rins.
The Mugello circuit has produced mixed fortunes for Marquez in the past, winning the 2014 edition and taking two further podiums in 2016 and 2019, while also being the scene of his first World Championship win back in 2010 in the 125cc class.
In 2022, the Spaniard’s objective for the weekend is to continue fighting for the maximum possible result.
With its fast and flowing nature, the Mugello circuit presents a new challenge after the two most recent rounds in Jerez and Le Mans.
Objectives on the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage are much the same as Pol Espargaro works with his experienced crew to find his pre-season form.
During the previous French GP, Espargaro was able to consistently lap in the 1’32s with just a handful of laps falling outside the range.
Espargaro has consistently achieved point scoring finishes at the Italian GP with his best result coming in 2014 with fifth place.
In 2010, he joined Marquez on the podium at Mugello in the 125cc race.
Eyes will once again be looking skyward as forecasts for the weekend remain mixed.
Action begins on Friday, May 27 (Saturday NZ time) with Free Practice 1.
Photo courtesy MotoGP
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2022 MOTOGP DATES:
Rd 1: March 6: Losail International Circuit / Qatar.
Rd 2: March 20: Mandalika International Street Circuit / Indonesia.
Rd 3: April 3: Termas de Río Hondo / Argentina.
Rd 4: April 10: Circuit of the Americas / Texas.
Rd 5: April 24: Algarve International Circuit / Portugal.
Rd 6: May 1: Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto / Spain.
Rd 7: May 15: Le Mans / France.
Rd 8: May 29: Autodromo del Mugello / Italy.
Rd 9: June 5: Barcelona-Catalunya / Spain.
Rd 10: June 19: Sachsenring / Germany.
Rd 11: June 26: TYT Circuit Assen / Netherlands.
Rd 12: July 10: KymiRing / Finland.
Rd 13: August 7 : Silverstone Circuit / GB.
Rd 14: August 21: Red Bull Ring-Spielberg / Austria.
Rd 15: September 4: Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli/ San Marino.
Rd 16: September 18: Motorland Aragon / Spain.
Rd 17: September 25: Twin Ring Motegi / Japan.
Rd 18: October 2: Chang International Circuit / Thailand.
Rd 19: October 16: Phillip Island / Australia.
Rd 20: October 23: Sepang International Circuit / Malaysia.
Rd 21: November 6: Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo / Spain.