The Italian Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (Ducati Desmosedici GP23) and the Spanish Pedro Acosta (Kalex) and Daniel Holgado (KTM) already have three wins out of six possible so far in the 2023 season, after their victories in the Italian Grand Prix that took place on Sunday at the Mugello circuit, and make them clear contenders for the title in their respective categories.
Bagnaia also won the sprint race on Saturday and made it clear that the Borgo Panigale manufacturer’s prototypes appear to be a step ahead of its competitorsalthough it is easy to say that after the victories achieved in a circuit where they often ride and where Ducati almost always tests the evolutions and novelties expected by the technical team.
In any case, what is beginning to be indisputable evidence is that “Pecco” Bagnaia has the most “aces” in his hands to renew the title. achieved in 2022, because in his favor is the fact that both victories, in the sprint race and in the long race, were achieved despite a fracture in his left ankle that doctors detected after the fall he suffered in Le Mans (France).
Ducati’s strategy of having eight motorcycles on the track is becoming more successful, because they become the perfect test bench where to achieve the most effective evolution for their prototypes and, until now, impossible for other manufacturers to compete, especially after seeing up to four Ducatis in the first four. positions at Mugello. And it could have been five if the Spaniard Alex Márquez had not gone to ground.
Despite his crash, Alex Márquez was very pleased with his performance at Mugelloand this is not least because if it were not for the penalty imposed on him of losing three positions in the starting formation after the penalty he received in France, he could be with Bagnaia and Martín at the head of the race and, in the worst case, fighting for on the podium in Italy.
Another very different case is his brother Marc Márquez, who once again tried to put everything that was missing in his Honda RC 213 V. and the result was the same: both ended up on the ground in just six laps and, even worse, there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel, because only the Japanese Takaaki Nakagami finished, along with Honda representatives, and made he in a very late thirteenth position.
Joan Mir, Marc Márquez’s teammate, could not even dispute the classificationbecause a fall on Friday, in which the fifth metacarpal fracture of his right hand occurred, forced him to go home directly and, a day later, the fall of the Spaniard Alex Rins in the sprint race, sent him to the Careggi University Hospital in Florence with a fractured tibia and fibula in his right leg.
It’s clear that Honda has problems, and very serious ones, with its 2023 prototype. The only one who seems to “squeeze” his little potential is Marc Márquez, except for the occasional “fall” of Alex Rins, but the end result is always the same, because Marc Márquez has not been able to finish a race this season.
Márquez crashes in Portimao (Portugal); Due to injury, he did not start the races at Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina), Austin (United States) and Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) and was grounded at Le Mans (France) and Mugello (Italy).
Pedro Acosta did what he had to do at Mugello, putting pressure on the leader of the Moto2 world championshipthe Italian Tony Arbolino (Kalex), who tried at home to fight for the best possible result against a “Shark” from Puerto de Mazarrón who could not be stopped.
Arón Canet (Kalex) took pole position shortly before injuring himselfbut he knew how to draw strength from the weakness that caused him to break the fifth metacarpal of his right hand to finish the fourth.
They are almost 51 thousandths of a second compared to the Turkish Deniz Öncü (KTM), but the Moto3 leader waited for the right moment to attack him and win his third grand prix of the seasonwhich stabilizes him at the head of the table, although it is true that there are still many races ahead and nothing is resolved in any of the three categories.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
