DOVIZIOSO DOES IT
Ducati rider claims stunning home win in Mugello
LUCO DI MUGELLO
ANDREA Dovizioso overcame pre-race sickness to win his home Italian Grand Prix for Ducati yesterday while Spaniard Maverick Vinales finished second on a Yamaha to increase his MotoGP lead to 26 points.
Dovizioso became the fourth different winner in six races this season and moved up to second place overall, ahead of compatriot Valentino Rossi who finished fourth for Yamaha.
Italian Danilo Petrucci finished third on the non-works Octo Pramac Ducati to make it two Italians on the podium.
The victory was the first in the top category of grand prix motorcycling by an Italian rider on an Italian bike on home soil since Gianfranco Bonera won the 500cc class on an MV Agusta at Imola in 1974.
Vinales now has 105 points to Dovizioso’s 79, with Rossi on 75. Honda’s reigning triple world champion Marc Marquez finished sixth and is fourth overall with 68.
Meanwhile, Mattia Pasini thrilled the home crowds as the Italian clinched victory in a threeway struggle for the Moto2.
Pasini roared his Kalex over the line to beat Switzerland’s Thomas Lüthi by just 0.052secs while Spain’s Alex Marquez flew over third at 0.136secs in a tight finish.
The trio had engaged in an epic cat-and-mouse struggle over the last 10 laps of the rolling track with its tight turns allowing multiple takeovers and long straight seeing the three open a gap on the field. But the Italian hit the front just at the right time.
Another Italian, Franco Morbidelli, was fourth, 3.6 seconds adrift, to maintain his lead in the Moto2 season standings with 113 points after six races so far.
Italy’s Andrea Migno claimed his first victory in the Moto3 category, winning in front of his home fans at Mugello.
The 21-year-old, on a KTM, snatched the win by a margin of 0.037 seconds from compatriot Fabio Di Giannantonio on a Honda with Spain’s Juanfran Guevara in third. Agencies