This is at MCN that we owe the words of the double world champion turned Ducati test rider, without any mention being made of the place or circumstances in which they were made by the Australian rider.
Casey Stoner: “Without a doubt, Andrea Iannone and the Desmosedici GP had the speed to be in the leading group and fight for victory at Mugello. Unfortunately, he did not take the train at the start, and lost a lot of time being stuck behind many drivers. But he showed his potential by setting the fastest race time on his last lap.
Dovi came back from 13th position to a place for the podium thanks to very good work and attacking hard in the leaders' times, but then suffered from compartment syndrome. I've been there and it's not a good feeling. So for Ducati, it was both positive but also a bit disappointing.
The race came down to Marc fighting for victory with Jorge in the final laps, which ended up being very, very interesting.
When you've led the whole race like Jorge did, and someone attacks you on the last lap, it's not easy to fight back. But Jorge's overtaking Marc in the last chicane was not expected by the latter, and I love seeing the fight come from Jorge!
It takes balls to pull off that overrun, and it created a great final spectacle. Jorge entered the chicane so quickly that Marc regained the lead on the stretch before the final corner.
But with Jorge diving inside, Marc had to close the door, he fishtailed Jorge and stayed tight on the inside of the last corner, but that means you don't get the best line for propel you into the straight line.
That's what Jorge did, he acted perfectly, went out wider and got a fantastic slipstream, and when Marc suffered a small rear wheel in the dip of the straight, Jorge continued his momentum .
By protecting the inside of the last corner, Marc slightly jeopardized his exit and Jorge got into a slingshot setup to take the victory.”
Note: not a word about Rossi…
