Alex Rins takes fantastic fourth at Mugello, Joan Mir twelfth

The usual electric atmosphere filled the hills around Mugello Circuit for the 6th round of the 2019 MotoGP Championship, and a thrilling race was witnessed by 84,000 excited fans.

In the morning warm-up session both Joan Mir and Alex Rins found useful improvements and placed themselves 2nd and 4th respectively, providing an extra confidence boost for the pair ahead of the race.

The sizzling circuit saw Alex and Joan start on the hard-medium combination for the 23-lap battle. The Spanish duo both made impressive starts from their tricky grid positions; Rins quickly slotted into 7th, while Mir was 13th.

Class rookie Mir was looking confident and keen to progress but just a few laps into the race he was hit from behind and taken into the gravel trap. After rejoining the track, the youngster was determined to prove his pace once again, he kept his head down and managed a great 12th place at the finish line.

Just one lap into the race, Rins was already up with the top group and ready to do battle. With 14 laps to go he had impressively taken the lead, and it became clear that he was ready for another strong result. An intense fight among the top four saw Alex stay close to the victory, and the title hopeful crossed the line in a very useful 4th place – holding onto 3rd in the championship standings.

Alex Rins
“I don’t think I could have had a better result with a better grid position, I recovered a lot of places on the first lap, but I was losing a lot of time on the straight. We knew it would be a tricky part of the track for us, and it’s a bit of a pity. But I gave 100% and pushed really hard, I tried to pass Dovizioso on the last corner, but he had a bit more traction than me. Anyway, I’m happy with this 4th and it all helps with the championship!”

Joan Mir
“I’m glad to pick up some points today, even if it wasn’t in the position that I wanted or that I felt I could achieve with my potential this weekend. The touch between Valentino and I cost me around seven seconds, and that’s what prevented me from getting a Top 10 finish. Anyway, I want to thank the team for all the great work done this weekend, I feel good and I know the results will come.”