MotoGP Italy FP1 LIVE: Maverick Vinales, a happy man ahead of Johann Zarco!

In the Yamaha/Ducati clash that we have been witnessing since the beginning of the year, the Italian manufacturer presents itself at Mugello and its endless straight with three machines in the top 4, a situation never known before, before other routes theoretically also beneficial to reds…

Suffice to say that the advance of a small point of Fabio Quartararo on Francis Bagnaia is hanging by a thread and it will take all the talent of the French driver to try to at least save the furniture while waiting for a Barcelona circuit which smiled on him last year.

At Mugello, Borgo Panigale machines have won the last three editions and have been on the podium since 2015. The logical favorite to continue this momentum therefore appears to be Jack Miller. With his very clear victory at Le Mans obtained in difficult conditions, and despite two Long Lap penalties and a passage in the gravel, the Australian extended his domination of Jerez with panache and it seems logical to say that he will now read the Mugello statistics with optimism rather than stress. Can he achieve a third consecutive victory?

In addition to that of a championship leader with full confidence, fabio quartararo, he will have to reckon with the opposition of his own teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, who only conceded one point to the French driver and showed great maturity at Le Mans in very delicate conditions, finding himself in 19th position just after the start then moving up to 4th place despite, as Jack Miller, two Long Lap penalties!

And then, of course, how can we not include among the contenders for victory a certain Johann zarco, 2nd at Le Mans and currently 3rd in the championship, who, when asked by Claude Michy about his favorite Grand Prix to obtain his first success in the premier category, did not hesitate to answer “Mugello” !
Bringing his employers a victory on their land is therefore a long-term project for the French pilot who has never ceased, and still does not cease, to amaze us...

Finally, to limit ourselves to these four logical possibilities would be to have a poor understanding of a MotoGP which always surprises us. The statistics on paper are what they are, but who predicted that Marc Marquez would be leading the French Grand Prix, around ten days ago, that the two Suzukis were going to fall almost at the same time or that Franco Morbidelli was going to go through his box to have his knee reattached before leaving?

MotoGP being an unpredictable spectacle, just like the weather which promises us a deterioration for Sunday, let's not try to anticipate the rest of the events any further and let's just discover the first elements of response provided by this 1-minute FP45 which will take place under almost immaculate skies with temperatures of 20° in the air and 25° on the asphalt.

By the time the 22 pilots (Michele Pirro replaces Jorge Martin still convalescing at Pramac Racing) are preparing under the lenses of Dorna's cameras, let's enjoy these few minutes of live footage thanks to the official website MotoGP.com:

Past references, dating from 2019:

Mugello MotoGP™	2019	2021
FP1	1'47.558 Marc Márquez (See here)	1'46.593 Maverick Vinales (See here)
FP2	1'46.732 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP3	1'46.056 Danilo Petrucci (See here)
FP4	1'46.799 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Q1	1'46.278 Andrea Dovizioso (See here)
Q2	1'45.519 Marc Márquez (See here)
Warm Up	1'46.930 Marc Máask (See here)
Course	Petrucci, Marquez, Dovizioso (See here)
All time lap record	1'46.056 Danilo Petrucci (See here)

When the red lights go out... the tradition continues with Franco Morbidelli leading the troop to discover the track while the two official Yamaha riders prefer to take their time, which allows us to observe the saddle of the very recent father Maverick Vinales...

In terms of tires, there are several choices available…

Michele Pirro registered the first reference in 1'49.103 at the end of the first flying lap while Marc Marquez go back to his box already. The physical state of the multiple Spanish champion as well as his recent statements start with everyone…

Michele Pirro continued his effort in the following laps in 1'48.459 then 1'47.945, the Italian driver having specified that as a replacement for George Martin a more efficient motorcycle than the one usually used during its wild cards.

alex rins attack hard from the start...

Marc Márquez took over the track while fabio quartararo climbs into 2nd position before lowering the provisional benchmark to 1'47.566 ahead of his teammate Maverick Vinales.

At the end of the first run, however, it is Maverick Vinales who leads the way in 1'47.130, four tenths ahead Fabio Quartararo, Takaaki Nakagami, Michele Pirro, Francesco Bagnaia, Brad Binder, Pol Espargaro “Minion”, Miguel Oliveira, Aleix Espargaro, Marc Márquez, Johann Zarco, Alex Márquez, Alex Rins, Joan Mir, Franco Morbidelli, Jack Miller, Valentino Rossi , Danilo Petrucci, Enea Bastianini, Lorenzo Savadori, Iker Lecuona and Luca Marini. Only the top seven are in the same second.

Midway through the session, the positions stabilize for a few minutes before Johann zarco rises to fifth position.

Joan Mir and Alex Rins also progressed by taking fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Miguel Oliveira then surprised the paddock by seizing the provisional third place previously held by Takaaki Nakagami.

A quarter of an hour from the checkered flag, still on the medium rear tire, Johann zarco confirms his ease and positions himself 2nd, 4 tenths behind Maverick Vinales.

Eight minutes from the end of the session, Michele Pirro is the first driver to leave for the final rush with a soft rear tire. In fact, he is the only one to use this strategy, the others simply switching to a new tire, medium for most, hard for Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder, Alex Marquez Iker Lecuona.

alex rins et Franco Morbidelli are the first to improve significantly, the Italian driver positioning himself second, 2/10 behind Maverick Vinales, the Spaniard third.

alex rins continued his effort and took command in 1'47.085 then 1'46.952 while his teammate obtained provisional third place.

Definitely in great shape, the young dad Maverick Vinales responds in 1'46.593 to complete your happiness!

In extremis, Johann zarco is positioned second in front of the two Suzuki drivers.

Maverick Vinales, Johann Zarco, Alex Rins, Joan Mir, Franco Morbidelli, Francesco Bagnaia, Michele Pirro, Fabio Quartararo, Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira are therefore currently pre-qualified for Q2.

Head to 14h for FP2!

FP1 classification of the Italian MotoGP Grand Prix at Mugello:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com