For his hundredth Grand Prix, the Ducati test rider in MotoGP and Superbike managed a very good race at home which allowed him to finish seventh, half a second ahead Cal Crutchlow, and to embellish the magnificent overall performance achieved by his teammates Danilo Petrucci et Andrea Dovizioso.
Born 32 years ago in San Giovanni Rotondo, Pirro won the 125 cc European Championship in 3, after having competed in his first Grand Prix in the same engine in 2004. He persevered in 2003 until 125, without result impressive. He then moved towards the Supersport World Championship with Ten Kate Honda, where he finished fifth in 2010, which opened the door to Fausto Gresini's team in Moto2 the following season. He won the Valencia race, his only victory in Moto2 and GP so far.
He then made his debut in 2012 in the CRT sub-category on an FTR MGP12 Honda, still with Gresini, before joining Ducati the following year as a test rider. He did wildcard races, but also replacements, such as that of Danilo Petrucci within the Octo Pramac Yakhnich team on a GP15.
In 2017, he impressed greatly by setting the fourth fastest time in qualifying for the Italian GP at Mugello. In 2018, despite only competing in four GPs last year, he finished magnificently fourth in Valencia, his best result so far in MotoGP.
This year, Mugello is his first Grand Prix of the year. Qualified twelfth, he started averagely and was in fourteenth position after three laps. Then he gradually moved up and took seventh place from Cal Crutchlow on the last lap.
According to Michele, “ The most important thing is that we won again at Mugello, for the third time in a row, because we couldn't take it for granted. As for me, I'm a little disappointed because today during the race, my Desmosedici was really competitive, but unfortunately I had a forearm problem in the first laps, which slowed me down.
“Then I just tried to stay calm and managed to move up to seventh place. I want to thank Ducati because, after the big crash this year at this circuit, we did a good job together and I am confident that I will soon be back at the top of my form.”
According to Claudio Domenicali, the CEO of Ducati Motor Holding SpA, « Winning is always fantastic, but doing it here at Mugello really has a special meaning. This is our home race, and on this magnificent track we can always count on the support of many people in our society and thousands of ducatists passionate”.
“Until a few laps from the end, we had up to four bikes fighting for the best positions. Danilo probably had an advantage today, but our two factory riders fought for the victory until the last lap and I believe Andrea deserves some of the credit for this victory, as he was the first to put showcase Danilo's potential. Taking him under his wing, he did a really excellent job.”
To Luigi Dall'Igna, General Manager of Ducati Corse, “ We should all be proud of the work accomplished, because winning three times in a row at Mugello, in front of so many Ducati fans, is a dream come true. Danilo was truly phenomenal, he had a fantastic last lap, and I'm really happy that he took his first MotoGP win on home soil.”
“I'm sorry for Andrea, who couldn't overtake Márquez before the checkered flag, but he also had a fantastic race and a podium is always a great result. I would like to congratulate all three of them, because they really put on a great show.”
Grand Prix results:
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
| 1 | Marc MÁRQUEZ | Honda | SPA | 115 |
| 2 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | ITA | 103 |
| 3 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | SPA | 88 |
| 4 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 82 |
| 5 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 72 |
| 6 | Jack Miller | Ducati | AUS | 42 |
| 7 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | GBR | 42 |
| 8 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | SPA | 40 |
| 9 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | JPN | 40 |
| 10 | Pol ESPARGARÓ | KTM | SPA | 38 |
| 11 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | ITA | 34 |
| 12 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | FRA | 31 |
| 13 | Aleix ESPARGARÓ | Aprilia | SPA | 27 |
| 14 | Jorge Lorenzo | Honda | SPA | 19 |
| 15 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | SPA | 12 |
| 16 | johann zarco | KTM | FRA | 10 |
| 17 | Michael PIRRO | Ducati | ITA | 9 |
| 18 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | ITA | 9 |
| 19 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | POR | 8 |
| 20 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia | ITA | 7 |
| 21 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | GER | 6 |
| 22 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 2 |
| 23 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM | MAL | 2 |
| 24 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | SPA | 2 |
| 25 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia | GBR |
Photos © Ducati
