NOT the MotoGP News – Mugello: What did the Romans ever do for us?
What did the Romans ever do for us?
Well, the Italians gave us Mugello. And Agostini, and Rossi, and Ducati. On the downside they also gave us Uccio. Oh well, swings and roundabouts.
Mugello is like Michelangelo’s David, or da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. It’s the manifestation of the Renaissance in the 21st century (steady on, you’re getting a bit too prosaic – Ed).
One of 2023’s benefits is that now you get two races a weekend. Though officially there’s one race and one sprint. Which to be honest is bollocks. It’s two races.
In Race 1 (ahem…) Alex Marquez fell off. Binder got a penalty for that. Ducatis took the top four places and Pecco Bagnaia won. And that folks is that. The sprints were hopefully going to be exciting, and they have been. But Saturday’s wasn’t.
Sunday was going to be different. Wasn’t it? Well Miller did his best to liven things up by getting away quicker than Ned Kelly accelerating down a mineshaft. But Pecco soon put paid to that and took the lead within seconds. The Marqs Brothers were 5th and 6th which wasn’t funny either. Martin took Miller for second and Miller then enacted a rather fiendish plan to drop down the grid in a failed attempt at reverse psychology.
Pecco and Martin probably had one of the most enjoyable but boring races ever at Mugello. They were first and second throughout the race but with little to do except not crash and not slow down.
Luckily for Luca Marini he’s not Rossi’s brother, just his half-brother. That still must get a bit tiring having to live with experienced commentators forgetting that and giving him the same father as Rossi. Anyway, he was doing his best to jump the gap to Martin in the early laps. Just as Marc M started to put Marini under pressure in Lap 6, Marc ran wide and low-sided out of the race. He still hasn’t finished a race in 2023 yet. God only knows what’s going to happen; given Marc’s astonishment at falling off or was it shear frustration at being given a rubbish bike to ride we’d expect to read about him talking to Ducati even it is only via his brother. Also imagine, if you will, how hard Dani Pedrosa may or may not be laughing at Puig’s discomfort. We wonder what Livio Suppo is doing these days.
Following Marc’s crash his brother picked up the mantle to try to take third on a much better bike, a Ducati. But obvs Marini is on one too. And behind those two was Covid-denier Zarco (get over it; the world is back to normal – Ed), who in turn was being chased by Binder. You might notice not one Yamaha in this leading group and with Marc’s crash the highest Honda was Origami in P12. Is the sun setting on the rising sun factories?
Alex passed Marini for third only to chuck it away a lap and a half later at Turn 1-2. Still think we’d rather be on Alex’s bike than Marc’s.
Having fallen off his push-bike on Thursday and twatted his heel Aleix Asparagus had wriggled his way up to 6th whilst his teammate Mav was as visible as a Honda i.e., nowhere to be seen. Or even a Suzuki for that matter.
Zarco passed injured Marini for third and that’s the way it finished with Bagnaia winning, and Pramac getting a double podium. Avanti!
