MotoGP Riders & Team Managers reflect on Mugello MotoGP

2019 MotoGP
Round Six – Mugello
MotoGP Rider Quotes

Danilo Petrucci – P1

“I really wanted this victory and when I realized the pace at the front wasn’t too fierce and I was able to manage my rhythm in the leading group, I told myself it was the right time to go for it. I tried to control the race by staying in the lead to avoid the risk of losing too many positions in the battle, dictating the pace to preserve the energies and the tyres for the final rush. I was a bit worried about the slipstream as we entered the final lap, but I managed to brake really deep and find a small gap between Andrea and Marc to retake the lead, then I simply pushed as hard as I could until the checkered flag. A good chunk of this win came thanks to Andrea, who took me under his wing this winter and gave so many precious tips. Now we’ll keep fighting together for the championship.”

Marc Marquez – P2

“Today was time to defend, and we did it in the best way we could because usually this is not one of our best circuits. I stayed calm and waited to try something in the last lap. I was able to try but I missed the apex on the first corner and then both Ducati overtook me. Petrucci rode very well at the front today, congratulations to him. My goal was to finish in front of Dovizioso and Rins and we did this so I’m happy. Also congratulations to my brother Alex, he had a great race today too. As always, thanks to the Repsol Honda Team as they have worked hard to allow us to fight for victory here.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P3

“It’s been a really exciting race, as it’s often the case here at Mugello. Until the very last lap, everything went to plan. I got off to a great start and I put myself in a good position to manage the tyres, staying always within the top three despite the many overtakes in the leading group. My plan was to seize the lead at the beginning of the last lap, but I had to pick up the bike out of turn one to avoid contact and I lost positions and points. I’m a bit disappointed because of that, but also very happy for Danilo, who really deserved this win. It would have been better to score a one-two finish, but Márquez was very competitive also here. As for us, we struggled a bit early on in the weekend but once again we managed to stay in contention until the very end during the race. We want more and we’ll keep working to improve.”

Alex Rins – P4

“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!”

Takaaki Nakagami – P5

“It was an amazing day and an amazing race. I was really strong from the start and I know that this is a weak point for me. In all the races after a couple of laps I’ve dropped positions and then fight back in the middle and at the end. But today, I was really strong at the beginning of the race and then tried to keep the position. At the end I knew that (Maverick) Vinales was really pushing hard, but I never gave up and fought hard. It’s the best result for me, I was the second Honda and fifth place is amazing. I didn’t expect it, it’s a fantastic weekend for me and I want to thank the team who did a really great job all weekend, the bike worked really well.”

Maverick Vinales – P6

“Today I struggled a lot. I had no feeling with the bike during the race and the tyres were very slippery. I tried to push in the correct way and manage the tyres in the best way I could, but anyway it wasn’t enough. I don’t think we should be on the level of getting sixth places, we need to push more. I really don’t know what to expect for Montmeló. For sure, during the practices we can be there, but in the race it’s a different story. Our bike suffers a lot when we don’t have grip. So, we need to keep working to see if we can improve the feeling and take steps forward.”

Michele Pirro – P7

“The most important thing is that we won again at Mugello, for the third time in a row, because we couldn’t take it for granted. As for me, I’m a bit disappointed because today during the race my Desmosedici GP was really competitive, but unfortunately I faced an issue with my forearm in the early laps, which slowed me down. Then, I simply tried to stay calm and I managed to climb back to seventh. I want to thank Ducati because, after last year’s big crash on this track, we’ve done a great job together and I’m confident I’ll be back to top form soon.”

Cal Crutchlow – P8

“Today was a very difficult day, quite possibly my worst race of the season. Again I was in the front group, but then got dropped from the front group which has not normally happened to me in previous years. I had a bad feeling with the bike when I was changing direction, which was happening all weekend, and I was not able to be competitive in that area. Then with about 14 laps remaining I felt a big drop in the rear tyre and was unable to keep my pace throughout the rest of the race. After the race we assessed the situation with the team and Michelin and found an unusual rubber wear on the rear tyre. So we’ll continue to evaluate it and I’m sure Michelin will investigate why this happened. I’m pleased to finish and get some points on a tough day, but that’s not where I need to finish at all.”

Pol Espargaro – P9

“We knew our position would be around 7-10 and we were not expecting these temperatures. With the Medium tyre we were in a very low grip situation and we knew our job would be a little bit harder. I was fighting a lot at the beginning of the race with [Franco] Morbidelli, [Alex] Rins even and [Fabio] Quartararo. It was hard, hot and with many changes of direction. It was a physical track and we saw many riders by the end were dropping and we could keep our pace. Anyway we were fourteen seconds faster in our total race time in 2018 and in the end I think we can be happy.”

Fabio Quartararo – P10

“I struggled right from the beginning. My start wasn’t bad, but I did a small wheelie that made me lose several positions. As the race progressed, the front tyre pressure increased a lot and unfortunately I couldn’t find a good feeling with the front. Our pace during the weekend was good, but we couldn’t get a great result. The goal is to be the best rookie, and today we achieved that. I don’t want to rush and I want to go step-by-step. Now we are going to Barcelona, which is one of my favourite circuits and I can’t wait to ride there with a MotoGP bike.”

Aleix Espargaro – P11

“I started well, but unfortunately, during the first lap Zarco made some pretty bold contact, causing me to lose time. In terms of pace, I had plenty to battle with Pol and Pirro in the top 10, but despite feeling very good today, I struggled to overtake. It’s a pity. Without the initial contact, a top-ten finish would most certainly have been within our potential. The conditions were demanding today. It was very hot and there wasn’t much grip and, considering our starting position, the 20-second gap behind the leader is a good result.”

Joan Mir – P12

“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.”

Jorge Lorenzo – P13

“Today was more or less what we expected. I didn’t have the pace and wasn’t as comfortable on the bike to be more competitive. We made a change in the Warm Up and it improved some areas. Not better or worse than we expected but neither myself nor Honda give up on making progress and finding a solution together. Now I will go to Japan to work with Honda on some improvements to come back stronger.”

Karel Abraham – P14

”To be honest the race was almost what I expected. I knew that we are capable to fight for the point today I knew we were strong same as Le Mans but it didn´t work. But I know also very well that the conditions changed for the race today, the track was hot, the air was hot this means it will be a lot more difficult for the tyres, for the bike but also for the rider. For me especially because I do not like hot conditions. After the start of the race it was not very good in identity very well with the tyres, because the front and the rear was slaiding quite a lot. But after a 4 laps I took the confidence and the bike work better. And I stay to overtake everybody. The race was very hard. I knew my tyres were dropping specially in the end but I could see everybody stay was dropping because I start to catch the otherones. So I was very good finally we made 2 points I think we deserve because we work really hard all weekend. And all my team we deserve the points, thank you very much to everyone. I´m super happy we ended finally the weekend like this.”

Andrea Iannone – P15

“I am rather satisfied, especially with the pace in the early part of the race. Starting so far behind, I was able to battle and make up a lot of ground, even on Aleix who is certainly my point of reference. Unfortunately, on the final laps with Mir and Zarco, we held one another up, losing time and also letting those who were behind us get close. This was clearly not the Mugello I expected, but our goal is long-term – to get to know the bike better and better and to develop it.”

Johann Zarco – P16

“I wanted a bit more consistency so I chose the Soft tyre but by the end it was finished. I wanted to be able to fight at the beginning and understand what my opponents can do better than me or not. I was able to get some good information even though I suffered at the end of the race and I finished slowly. We know we are suffering and I must wait to have some new things on the bike. I know I need to change my style but even by trying to do this I have the same limits as before. We can only get better from here and now I have six months experience. I think the team has good information for the way to work.”

Miguel Oliveira – P17

“It was a tough race in the beginning and hard to manage the bike with the full fuel tank. Then I started to find my pace and it was quite OK. The last five laps where very difficult again as I was missing grip and I could not manage to attack the points scoring positions. But, in general, the gap to the front was not too big and also the one to Pol was not huge. After the tough weekend, I think we didn’t expect to be so competitive in the race, so it was positive.”

Jack Miller – DNF

“It was a very exciting race. I was with the front group and it was a fantastic battle. The feeling with the bike was very good and I started to push after seeing Petrucci and Marquez trying to make the gap. I tried to overtake Rins but then I crashed.”

Pecco Bagnaia – DNF

“It’s a shame we couldn’t finish the race. Our goal was to stay in the Top 10 and the race pace was very good. I am still satisfied because in the last three races we have made great steps forward. We’ll try again in Barcelona.”

Valentino Rossi – DNF

“It was a very difficult weekend, because I was always very slow. We expected to be more competitive, so it was difficult to manage. We also made some mistakes in the practice: I made a mistake in FP3 and because of it I started very far towards the back of the grid. In the race, my pace wasn’t fantastic. I tried to overtake Mir, but he tried to defend his position, and unfortunately we touched. Luckily, we didn’t crash, but we went onto the gravel. After that I tried to push to recover and I lost the front and crashed, so it’s a bad end to a difficult weekend, especially since it’s in Mugello. But that’s the way it is. We will try to do better.”

Franco Morbidelli – DNF

“I had a good start for the first few metres, but then I lost a lot of ground for some reason. After that I started to recover, and little-by-little I felt faster. However, on the sixth lap I made a mistake on the last corner and I lost the front end. It was a shame because I was going fast, and I think I could have fought for a place in the top five. It’s been a good weekend in any case. We suffered on Friday but we were fast on Saturday, and at least over the first five or six laps today we showed great potential. I’m looking forward to the Catalan GP.”

Hafizh Syahrin – DNF

“I felt very good with the bike in the beginning of the race but in Turn 9 I had a huge low side and was lucky to save this. I tried to push again but couldn’t find the same feeling as in the beginning. I wanted to do more laps but with this feeling it was impossible not to go down, so I decided to retire. It’s a pity, especially because I’m convinced that we could have scored points here but sometimes this just happens. Even if this was not our day and I’m truly sorry for everybody, we keep working hard for the next race. Barcelona is my favourite track, so I will for sure give more than 100 percent again.”

Tito Rabat – DNF

”Happy because we have found the way with the bike, because we can be competitive and fight with the best but frustrated by the problem today. Now we just have to think about Montmeló.”

MotoGP Team Managers

Claudio Domenicali – CEO of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.

“Winning is always fantastic, but to do it here at Mugello really has a special meaning. It’s our home race, and on this wonderful track we can always count on the support of so many people from our company and thousands of passionate ducatisti. Until a few laps to go, we had as many as four bikes fighting for top positions. Danilo probably had a bit of an edge today, but both our factory riders fought for the win until the very last inch and I believe that Andrea deserves part of the credit for this victory, as he was the first to highlight Danilo’s potential and he took him under his wing, doing a really excellent job.”

Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager

“We all must be proud of the work done, because winning three times in a row at Mugello, in front of so many Ducati fans, is a dream come true. Danilo was really phenomenal, he rode a fantastic last lap, with an incredible pass at the beginning, and I’m really happy he took his maiden MotoGP win at his home race. I’m sorry for Andrea, who couldn’t pass Márquez back before the checkered flag, but he rode a fantastic race as well and a podium is always a great result. I want to congratulate myself with all three of them, because they really put on a show.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“Alex did an excellent job considering the grid position yesterday, he put together a great race. I want to apologise to him because it was hard to keep up with the others on the long straight, we have improved the bike and we will continue to work hard for this. Joan picked up some points today and he did a very good race, without the runoff it could have been even better, so we’re happy with the work he did today.”

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“Alex did a really great race, recovering so well from 13th position on the grid. We’re slightly disappointed for him, because he did everything he could, and it was not enough to stay right with the others. But we know how competitive we are, and there are some other circuits which will suit us better. Anyway, we’re really pleased with this 4th place. Joan started from 20th and he did a great job, getting into points scoring positions, until he had the coming together with Valentino which cost him a lot. But he did so well to recover 12th place. It’s been positive for both riders today.”

Mike Leitner – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“A top ten was the target for us and we achieved that here with Pol, which was very good. A positive point was that the bike had good potential all weekend. Mugello and Barcelona have been difficult tracks for us in the past and with our current package, so to make the top ten so far is very good. With Johann we made some improvement on Friday but he crashed on Saturday and took a gamble with tyre choice for the race, and the Soft rear could not stay until the end. We’ll be looking forward to trying for another top ten in Catalunya.”

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“Naturally we are very disappointed. We knew this weekend was going to be really difficult, but we had higher hopes for our team‘s home GP than the results we got today. We have to give credit to Maverick though. His start was far from ideal, but he fought his way back to sixth, which was realistically the best could do, considering his race pace. Valentino had a nightmare of a day… It was going to be hard starting from 18th on the grid, but the incidents on track ended his race. All in all, it’s a GP to forget for him. We as a team, however, will be doing the opposite: we have to learn from this and find something for the next race in Catalunya in two weeks‘ time.”

Hervé Poncharal – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“To finish a weekend without a point, is always a disappointment, because this is a reward for the hard work of the whole team and the riders. But still I believe, we did a good weekend. We were quite competitive in the race. Hafizh had a big moment and that was a real shame, because until then, that was for sure the best start of the year for him and he could have been fighting for points, but unfortunately lost the front, he tried to stay on track, but was close to crash. He aimed to carry on a bit more, but lost the front a few more times and I understand his idea that is was safer to come in, but it was a huge disappointment as it was by far the best Hafizh we saw since the beginning of the year. Miguel was lapping really consistently. We knew he would be strong all race long, because I think the tyre choice was the best one. We passed quite a few guys, including Johann Zarco and for a part of the race, we were in the points, but unfortunately Abraham was a bit quicker in the end and passed us, which didn’t allow us to score that point, that would have been a decent end to a quite constructive weekend. Nevertheless, we have to remember that the Warm Up crash didn’t help, so for sure, in the early part of the race Miguel was a bit cautious. He’s got a small injury on a finger of his left hand. Ok, this is not, what we want to do, but we were not too far. We saw that Pol Espargaro could finish in front of some top factory guys, so we need to keep on working. Today we finished second of the KTM MotoGP department. Overall, we have mixed feelings, but let’s take the positive ones, gather all the information we have and get more confidence and head to Barcelona with a good feeling, where hopefully we can score points with both of our guys.”

Razlan Razali – Petronas SRT Team Principal

“In MotoGP we have mixed feelings about the race today. Franco Morbidelli was doing very well, until he crashed, but we are happy with his performance. We’re also happy with the tenth position for Fabio Quartararo, because the goal for him is still to be the best rookie in the class. Clearly we weren’t able to match the fastest bikes on the straight today, but we move on and take the positives. We have learned a lot and we have seen our two riders riding with the frontrunners. Now we have to prepare for Catalonia.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Petronas SRT Team Manager

“We’ve learned a lot from today’s race. In this World Championship there are at least 15 riders who can fight for the podium. In practice we are clearly part of that group, but we have to be realistic. We finished tenth with Fabio and Franco crashed. We were in the group, but we weren’t able to fight until the end. It’s good to have picked up points and I think we showed good performance in practice, but we must improve in the race.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin

“Today was a fantastic spectacle to what has been both a very tough, but also extremely rewarding weekend. The whole array of tyres were used in the practices and five of the compounds were raced today. The track was in poor condition compared to last year, but the tyres all worked well and we had some very fast lap-times, plus a new outright lap-record, the fastest speed from a MotoGP bike and the race was 10-seconds quicker than last year. We have learned a lot though and will need to look at how the tyres behaved in the race and reassess the compounds for next season to take into account the extra abrasiveness. Overall we are very pleased and now we head to Catalunya for another important race and a test on the Monday where we will be trying some tyres for 2020.”

World Championship Standings