It was a very good fight that Alvaro Bautista put up on the Mugello circuit against Marc Marquez during this Italian Grand Prix, managing to overtake the reigning World Champion then resisting his attacks until at the finish line which he crossed in fifth position.
Eighth on the grid, the Team Aspar driver completed the first lap in ninth position. He was then overtaken by Johann Zarco, and the two men gained a place to the detriment of Dani Pedrosa. Bautista then progressed two positions, passing Zarco and Andrea Iannone. Jorge Lorenzo paid the price for his enthusiasm shortly after, before Alvaro launched into his superb fight against Marc Marquez.
He managed to resist Marquez who nevertheless gave his all, and finished in fifth position, almost as well as in Argentina where he managed to finish fourth. It is a shame that he was only able to score one other point in the other four Grands Prix, finishing fifteenth at Texas, and being forced to retire at Qatar, Jerez and Le Mans.
According to Alvaro Bautista, “ Today it was important to finish the race, after not being able to finish the last two at Jerez and Le Mans, where we could have done well. We had to finish.
“I had a good pace, but I lost positions at the start because I was a little stiff. Then I started to relax and get back into my rhythm, and little by little I passed the riders in front of me.
“When I overtook Marc Márquez, I attacked to see if I could outrun him, but he hung on and it was difficult. In general, the variation in the deviation was very small, but it served as a reference.
“On the last lap I tried to close all the doors to stop him from overtaking me, I did it and now I can say I finished fifth. I'm happy to finish the race and especially to do it this way.
“It was a real fifth position, not because of problems for the other drivers like in Argentina, where we were fourth. This gives us a real morale boost for Barcelona. »
Grand Prix results:
1- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP
2- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.281
3- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 2.334
4- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 3.685
5- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 5.802
6- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 5.885
7- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 13.205
8- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 14.393
9- Michele Pirro – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 14.880
10- Andrea Iannone – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 15.502
11- Tito Rabat – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 22.004
12- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 24.952
13- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 28.160
14- Hector Barbera – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 30.676
15- Jack Miller – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 30.779
16- Karel Abraham – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP15 – + 42.306
17- Sylvain Guintoli – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 46.294
18- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP15 – + 50.731
19- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 50.740
20- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 50.897
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 105 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 79
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 75
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 68
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 68
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 64
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 46
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 42
9 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 41
10 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 40
13 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 25
