Moto3 Italy Mugello FP1: Dennis Foggia shows his claws in this competitive session

After the French Grand Prix two weeks ago, the Moto3 paddock arrives this weekend at Mugello to compete in the eighth round of the season, the Italian Grand Prix. After crashing at the start of the race at Le Mans, Sergio García took advantage of the red flag to take the second start and take the points for seventh place, enough to limit the damage. Indeed, the current leader of the Championship sees his direct competitors reducing the gap and now has a new runner-up in the person of Jaume Masia, who for his part won his second victory of the season 15 days ago.

The Spanish driver is going this weekend to a circuit that he appreciates since he has been on the podium twice there. Same observation for Dennis Foggia, second on equal points, who triumphed on this Mugello track last year in front of his home crowd. The two men are 17 lengths behind the overall leader, nothing is yet decided in the Championship as the races in the Moto3 category are full of twists and turns.

As for Andrea Migno, who is stagnating in seventh place overall, he will be keen to put his best foot forward on home soil, having won the race in 2017.

What will this first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello have in store for us? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

Mugello Moto3™	2021	2022
FP1	1'57.724 Andrea Migno	1'56.916 Dennis Foggia
FP2	1'56.661 Darryn Binder
FP3	1'56.234 Andrea Migno
Q1	1'56.875 Tatsuki Suzuki
Q2	1'56.001 Tatsuki Suzuki
Warm Up	1'57.271 Gabriel Rodrigo
Course	Foggia, Masia, Rodrigo
All time lap record	1'56.001 Tatsuki Suzuki 2021

At the end of the morning, the air temperature was 22°C and that of the track 27°C.

As soon as the green flag is shown to them, the Moto3 riders spring into action. The track conditions are ideal for getting back on track and setting a good time from FP1. Only the motorcycle Tatsuki suzuki (Honda, Leopard Racing, #24) remained in the pits, and the mechanics were working around his machine. He comes into action 5 minutes after the other pilots.

After the first flying lap, the fastest is Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7), in 2'00.616, in front Alberto Surra (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #67), who is back after his injury and Andrea Migno (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #16).

Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) is the first to cross the 2-minute barrier, in 1'59.970, after barely 10 minutes on the track. Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) took control again on the same lap, in 1'59.553. The first 10 drivers stand within 1 second, Lorenzo Fellon (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #20) is currently 7th, 0.506s behind the leader.

This Sunday, the phenomenon of aspiration will be taken into account on the long Mugello straight.

Ana Carrasco (KTM, BOE SKX, #22) this Sunday will be the female rider with the most Grand Prix starts.

Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) passed the fateful mark of 1'59, completing the Tuscan track in 1'58.983, in the first quarter of an hour of the session. Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) outbid in 1'58.445.

With 25 minutes left before the end of this FP1, the drivers return to the pits to optimize the settings of their machines. The Top 7 is held in 1 second, and is made up of Rossi, Foggia, Bertelle, Toba, Masia, Moreira et Guevara.

15 minutes from passing under the checkered flag, Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) improves and takes control in 1'58.417. He leads the way in front Riccardo Rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) and Matteo Bertelle (KTM, QJMotor Avintia Racing Team, #18). No doubt, we are in Italy!

Tatsuki suzuki (Honda, Leopard Racing, #24) wakes up 10 minutes from the end of the session and completes the 5,245 km of the Tuscan track in 1'58.219, relegating his teammate, Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7), at 0.198s. The Japanese driver improves again in 1'57.905, and is now 0.512s ahead of his closest pursuer!

With only 7 minutes left in this PF1, the drivers put on soft tires. The times should improve further, even if Tatsuki suzuki (Honda, Leopard Racing, #24) already has a comfortable lead.

Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) did not give up and accelerated: 1'57.490, or 0.415s better than Tatsuki suzuki (Honda, Leopard Racing, #24). Izan Guevara (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #28) is 3rd, but 0.764s behind the leader.

Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #71) and John mcphee (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #17) are provisionally at the forefront, respectively in 1'57.394 and 1'57.283, before Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) only goes 1'56.916! There are just over 2 minutes left to get closer to the lap record!

At the end of this highly contested FP1, Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) is the fastest, in 1'56.916, ahead of the duo Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, led by John mcphee at 0.367s and Ayumu Sasaki at 0.478s. Kaito Toba (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #27) fell at turn 10 at the very end of the session.

FP1 result of the Italian Moto3 Grand Prix at Mugello:

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com