Riders comment on the tragedy and triumphs of the Italian GP

2021 MotoGP Round Six Mugello

Fabio Quartararo – P1

“In short, there was a lot of emotion today. It was an amazing day for us, but it was so difficult to stay focused. Honestly, I don‘t know how I was able to keep up this pace because every lap you do, you are thinking about Jason Dupasquier. It‘s not an easy thing to do, and I think that all the riders rode for him. My thoughts are with his family. My strategy today was to see which position we would get with the use of the holeshot device. I am super happy with it. I was in second place at the first corner. I remember 2019, when I started from second here and I think I was eighth or ninth in the first corner. So, it was amazing to arrive at the first corner in fourth gear and in second position today. I was riding easily behind Francesco Bagnaia, and when I saw him crash, I wanted to try to ride five laps at my maximum. But then Johann Zarco overtook me. So I said, ’I need to do aggressive moves‘. First of all to make him lose time and also to open up a gap. I thought, ’if I can hold on to first going into the first corner, it‘s good‘, and that‘s what happened. So, I‘m really happy about my race.”

Miguel Oliveira – P2

“It was a good race and a strong weekend. We saw we had one of the best race paces out there. I was not strong enough to push at the beginning with the tires but then I got in my rhythm, I managed to get to 2nd and then could keep Joan Mir behind me, which was not easy. I would have liked to have made this podium in different circumstances. We can be happy but not completely, and our thoughts are with Jason’s family right now.”

Joan Mir – P3

“It was very difficult to put the helmet on today, a really hard day at the office. What happened to Jason was incredibly sad – we are all humans and part of a paddock family, so of course we feel all these emotions. It’s been the saddest podium of my career, and also for Fabio and Miguel I’m sure. I send my warmest wishes to Jason’s family and team and dedicate this podium to them. My crew did great job this weekend, the bike improved every day and I gave my absolute all, so I’m pleased to repay them with this 3rd place. I would also like to dedicate this result to our team member, Elvio, who was badly injured in an accident last year but was finally able to join us here in Mugello. Now it’s time to rest a bit and get prepared for Montmelo.”

Johann Zarco – P4

“We gave it our all. Today’s race wasn’t an easy one, there were many emotions on this difficult day. I am happy by the way I was able to conclude the race. After the crash I had before today’s start, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to race, but in the end it all went well.”

Brad Binder – P5

“I’m happy with 5th today, even if I did want more but I had a crazy race. I almost tucked the front on the Sighting Lap, so I was trying to work out the conditions and why I felt different. I didn’t have a perfect start and then I was cautious on the first three laps. Marc [Marquez] rode into me and my airbag fired which meant I couldn’t move for almost a lap! After that I could finally get into a rhythm and chase the group in front of me although I didn’t quite have the pace to get through it. Anyway, I’m pleased with another top five and we’ll try to keep this momentum for the next races.”

Jack Miller – P6

“That was better than it usually is for me at Mugello, so to come out of here with some decent points and stay in fourth in the championship is a good result. As you probably heard about 100 times this weekend, Mugello isn’t a place where I’ve had much success over the years so to finish sixth, get 10 points, stay where I was in the standings and move on to Barcelona next week, I’ll take that. But it was a sad Sunday for all of us, the sort of day when the results don’t seem important at all. 

“We had the incident in Moto3 qualifying with Jason Dupasquier, and we were all hoping for the best for him as we left the track on Saturday night. Sadly we found out that he had passed on Sunday before the start of the Moto2 race, and we all raced with a heavy heart.  

“What we’ve experienced today is a tragedy, there’s no doubt about it. A young life has been lost and someone’s son, someone’s brother, has been taken away far too early. My heartfelt condolences go out to Jason’s family, because for a mother and father to see that happen, it’s just terrible. I know some of the riders didn’t want to race and were critical afterwards of the decision to race, and while I don’t want to say too much, I feel Jason was a racer at heart and I’m sure he would have wanted the race to go on. 

“Saturday night, when we were all hoping and praying for good news, I was at a function and the TVs kept showing replays of the accident. I actually unplugged all of them because we didn’t need to see that, seeing replay after replay is just wrong and to me that’s unacceptable. We all know motorcycle racing is dangerous, we’re all aware of that and we try not to think about the worst that can happen, but for me that was too much. Completely unnecessary and in really poor taste.

“In the race, I struggled with the wind and I felt I was forcing things a little bit at the beginning, and I needed to take a lap or two to slow down and gather myself to see what I could do. I dropped a couple of spots and probably lost too much time at the beginning and my pace picked up the longer it went, but the guys in front were just a bit too quick for me today. To be honest, my main goal was leaving here with some points, and while that sounds like a strange thing to say when you’ve won the previous two races, I was actually quite content with sixth because I felt on the limit a few times and had a couple of moments. I wanted to see the chequered flag at Mugello for once, so job done. 

“Mugello is a place that I love, all us riders do, and we all missed being here last year. It hadn’t loved me much back because my results before this year had been pretty bad, let’s be honest. Both years we ran the yellow livery with Ducati I was in the front group, but managed to dump it. It’s a track you love to ride at on a MotoGP bike but one where I’ve done some silly mistakes before, so it’s not a case of me not being fast enough, let’s say. So, like Le Mans … I had some unsettled business coming there and I was able to right the ship, so the aim for Mugello was the same thing. 

“The big news that happened between here and France of course was me being confirmed at the team for next year, it’s been a pretty phenomenal few weeks really. It feels unreal to get the contract signed and not have to worry about that for another eight months or so, and I now get to focus now on what I enjoy most. It’s a real honour for me to ride for this team and wear these colours, and the support I received from the team these last few months, the faith they’ve shown in me, has been unreal. So I hope to repay them for that with some more wins, and then we’ll see where we end up in the championship.”

Aleix Espargaro – P7

“We continue to be in the leading group and this is undoubtedly a good sign for me and for Aprilia. However, I feel like I could have achieved more today. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the same, outstanding sensations that I had during practice on the RS-GP. I was missing something in acceleration. We still haven’t been able to explain it, but we were less incisive compared with yesterday. Still, finishing so close to the podium here as well is a result to be proud of. Another positive note is that the arm reacted better than expected.”

Maverick Vinales – P8

“Well, actually I didn’t have enough feeling with the front. I struggled a lot. Somehow, I was so good during FP1, but at that time I was riding with the soft front. So we need to check what makes such a big difference in the front feeling between compounds for us. We need to find out why I struggled with the medium front tyre this entire weekend. I couldn’t turn and couldn’t make a big improvement in my lap times. Basically, during this race I struggled a lot. It wasn’t a good weekend for us unfortunately, and overall today was a sad day. It was very emotional to stand on the starting grid before the race for the one-minute silence in remembrance of Jason Dupasquier. I send my condolences to his family and friends as well as his team.”

Danilo Petrucci – P9

“First of all, it was a really difficult race today: not on the sporting side but on the human one. It was quite a long race but we have been fighting a lot. I just found a good rhythm at the end and I could make a good pace and also overtake some other guys. We started so far back on the grid, so the first laps were really difficult to manage with a lot of riders. Apart from that, I lose quite a lot of time on the straight with my size. The other riders always pass me there but I think we found something interesting on the bike. Miguel and Brad made a big step and we have to do the same.”

Valentino Rossi – P10

“My condolences go to the family of Jason Dupasquier, his team and also his friends. When these things happen it is difficult to find the will to race, because you question what is the point of racing? But unfortunately you also ask what is the sense in not racing? You cannot change what happened. It was very difficult to put the helmet on and concentrate on the race today.

“I lost a bit of time in the first corner because of contact, but after that my pace was decent. I was able to recover, do some overtakes and I could stay inside the top-ten. It is not fantastic, but we have taken some points today.”

Iker Lecuona – P11

“I’m quite happy about today because finally I could fight for the top 10. I could improve my feeling with the bike. I was fighting a lot with Danilo, my teammate. On the last laps he was quicker than me and I couldn’t follow. But I had a great fight with Valentino. Finally, I lost out on the top 10 by just 0.006 seconds to him. I think I learned a lot overall during this weekend. I just want to say thanks to my team, because they push me a lot and believe in me. I want to dedicate this race to Jason, his family and friends.”

Pol Espargaro – P12

“Today our results are not the focus, the most important thing is thinking of Jason and his family. Today we all had him in our hearts and minds when we raced. My race was difficult today, the start was ok and I was behind Taka. Then something happened with the wing and I lost it, which made it very complicated. I was losing a lot of aerodynamics, changing direction was very hard and the bike was not behaving. This happened on lap four or five so it was difficult. We will keep working in Barcelona.”

Michele Pirro – P13

“A shame, I was having a good race. I had overtaken many riders and my pace was good. I made a mistake with three laps to go and in this category you cannot afford to make any errors. Regardless, I want to thank the team for the help and support they gave this weekend.”

Álex Márquez – P14

“It was a difficult day here. The warm-up was very positive and we were able to make some steps and look forward as we had quite good pace. But in the race, we decided to go with a front hard tyre and maybe it wasn’t the right decision as I was losing a little bit too much on the left side. It was a difficult weekend, but I think we made some good steps during the warm-up and the three days. We need to analyse some more and come back stronger. Anyway, today the main thing was that we raced for Jason, many times racing can be like this. I think for all of us the race was of secondary importance today.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P15

“If I look at the pace I was able to maintain, I’m a bit disappointed in myself, because the top 10 was not that far off. I lost a lot of time in the battle with Alex Marquez, whereas, when I could set my own pace, I was able to get close to the group ahead of me. In any case, I am looking at the overall improvement, which is consistent, even on a track like this one where I am obviously penalised by my build. I must say that the RS-GP confirmed that it works well here at Mugello too.”

Franco Morbidelli – P16

“Today was very difficult to concentrate and be focused for the race because of the very sad news that we received before the race. Our sport can be like this sometimes; unfortunately it is a dangerous sport and things like this can happen. I’m really sorry for what happened, but it’s important to absorb this hard hit and go forward with the same energy as always. My condolences go to all of Jason Dupasquier’s loved ones.

“Regarding the race, another rider crashed in front of me on the second lap and I had to avoid both him and his bike. I had to try not to crash myself as well, which I managed, but it cost me a lot of time and I was unable to stay with the pack. Anyway, I didn’t have the speed that I would have wanted today and overall it just wasn’t the best of days, for many reasons. I’m now looking forward to forgetting this weekend and to face another race in Barcelona next week.”

Luca Marini – P17

“It was a very tough race and we fought hard. We have to work to close the gap. I had a similar problem in Qatar: I couldn’t feel the rear tire and I couldn’t make it work properly. I was losing on corner entry, I was always sideways and I was also losing acceleration. This weekend was something strange that I had never experienced before. The difference with the front was big and we have to understand what happened because we haven’t made any major changes to the bike since Friday.”

Francesco Bagnaia – DNF

“First of all, I want to apologise to the whole team. I made a mistake, and it’s a pity because we’ve worked hard all weekend and had the potential to fight for the win. Unfortunately, after the news of Jason Dupasquier’s passing, I couldn’t keep my concentration. Now we have to move on and start focusing on the next race, which will take place next week in Barcelona”.

Marc Marquez – DNF

“It has been a very hard weekend for MotoGP, we have lost a young talent, a young rider inside the paddock. This situation is very hard for everyone, and we wish everyone close to Jason all the best. Unfortunately we finished the race much earlier than we were expecting and it was really not a good situation because I need laps on the bike. I had contact with Brad Binder, it was a racing incident, and this happens many times here at this track. I thought that Binder was further back and in the change of direction, we touched, it as my mistake. Luckily no one else fell. Now we prepare for Catalunya after this difficult weekend for the MotoGP family.”

Alex Rins – DNF

“It’s difficult to say what happened today, because I was riding well behind Joan and holding strong positions and making passes. During the race I felt pretty good with the bike, but not quite the same feeling as during practices. I was struggling a bit with the front of the bike, and we need to analyse what happened because I can’t figure it out. It’s four DNFs for me in a row now, and that’s not normal, so we need to find out what’s going on, causing me to lose the front and crash out. Luckily I’m fine physically, but obviously I am feeling very disappointed. This weekend has been very tough for everybody, and my thoughts are with Jason Dupasquier’s family and friends. Now we need some time to refocus before Barcelona next weekend.”

Takaaki Nakagami – DNF

“Today we are all very sad that Jason passed away. It’s a really difficult moment for everyone in the paddock. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and his team, we are all very sorry. For us it was difficult to focus on the race in such a sad moment, it’s a really sad day for all of motorcycling. But we have to try and look to the future now and the next race at Montmelo.”

Enea Bastianini

“Unfortunately, it was a very tough Sunday, starting from the loss of Dupasquier. On the formation lap, coming out of the last corner, I touched with Zarco and I couldn’t do anything to avoid the crash. I tried to get to the pit as fast as possible to take the second bike, but on the first lap I crashed. We’ll try to make up for it in Barcelona and I’ll try to prepare as much as possible because in any case we were fast and competitive.”

Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“Fabio did an amazing job today. He was feeling quite emotional after the one-minute silence, but he still managed to do a good job, staying fully concentrated. Honestly, coming here we didn‘t expect that we were going to win the race in Mugello – which is usually territory more suited to our rivals – and especially with such a comfortable margin. But Fabio and his crew worked really cleverly this weekend on fixing the mapping and trying to save as much tyre as possible, and the rest was all Fabio. Though the team tried some setting tweaks this morning, we weren‘t able to make Maverick 100% comfortable with the front of his bike during the race. Starting from 13th is difficult for us anyway, but he did a good job to just steadily pick up places where he could and take 8th place in the end. Overall we are pleased because our team got its fourth win of the season, but the tragic passing of Jason Dupasquier casts a shadow over this day. All Yamaha staff‘s and the team members‘ thoughts are with his family, friends, loved ones, and the PrüstelGP team.”

Shinichi Sahara  Suzuki Project Leader and Team Director

“It’s been an up and down day; of course we’re very pleased with Joan’s efforts and his podium finish because he didn’t have an ideal grid position but he was able to make a good start and show great pace. Alex also had strong pace with the race tyres, and we were really aiming for a double podium today, which seemed possible, but unfortunately another crash for Alex meant it didn’t happen. Luckily he is fine. We won’t give up and we’ll continue to work towards better consistency.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“This weekend has been very tough, but we are happy to get back on the podium. I want to thank and congratulate Joan for this great result, and also the team for all their efforts. It was such a pity for Alex today, he had podium pace and plenty of potential but unfortunately he crashed again. We will continue pushing to get both riders on the podium, and we move now directly to Barcelona where we will work hard and hope for a nice finish for Joan and Alex.”

Mike Leitner – Red Bull KTM Race Manager

“A good result for the complete MotoGP KTM line-up here with three bikes in the top nine and all four in the top eleven. Miguel’s podium was outstanding but also Brad’s performance in 5th. We knew it would be a long, hard race and you had to stay focused on this track. They both find the right mix between attacking and defense. Credit also to the Tech3 boys for coming back like they did. We are satisfied with the race performances of course but it has also been a sad and difficult weekend. I hope we can keep racing competitively and in a safe way.”

Razlan Razali – Petronas SRT Team Principal

“It has been a difficult weekend for the whole of the MotoGP fraternity, with the loss of young rider Jason Dupasquier. It’s hard for all of us to have this loss in the paddock, but this is our sport and it’s dangerous. Everyone is grieving with this loss. It was a very good top-ten for Valentino in today’s MotoGP race, however it is a shame that Franco’s GP unfolded the way it did..

Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“Great team result here in Mugello for the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing Team. We worked really hard during the whole weekend. We knew it’s not going to be easy, but we worked mainly on the race setting in order to keep a strong race pace. I think that has helped us a lot to get the result we achieved here today.”

“Both, Danilo and Iker took the hard front option, which for sure was a plus for the last part of the race due to quite high track temperature. They had an ok start, but they put their head down with a really strong pace and they managed to pass quite a few guys. Of course, they also benefited of guys crashing in front, but we were doing really interesting lap times.”

“To finish in the top 10 with Danilo here in Mugello is something we would have signed before the race, for sure and the same thing applies for the 11th position of Iker. That shows also in the Championship, that we are there, we are not too far and we should keep the positive attitude and fighting spirit. This is the way to go. We’ve done six races and we are in the mix and there will be more things to come from KTM, I believe. We need to be stronger from Friday morning in order to definitely have a better grid position.”

“I’m really happy for Danilo to have a top 10 at home, which was very important for him. We are also happy with Iker, because he has been fighting with Danilo the whole race long and on the last lap he had an interesting scrap with Valentino and Valentino just passed him by six thousands on the line, whereas Iker exited ahead of him there. Clearly, there were a lot of things Iker learned today, so we are happy. We’d like to thank KTM for their support, we’d like to congratulate them for their first podium of 2021 and hopefully it’s not going to be the last. We have an important appointment next week in Catalunya.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager

“The first thing that I must say is that we are all very saddened by the tragic news of the passing of Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier, and our thoughts and condolences go out to his family, close friends and members of his team.

“In terms of our tyres, we were very happy with their performance throughout the whole weekend. The riders tested all the options in our Mugello allocation at some time during the various practice sessions during the weekend, and the feedback was very positive.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and in the results, so the fact that the all-time lap record, the race lap record, the circuit top speed record and the race time record were all broken this weekend shows that the allocation worked exactly as we expected. I’m also pleased to see that all teams were on the pace during the weekend – with four different constructors in the top five places in the race – which highlights the versatility, in addition to the grip, feel and consistency that our 2021 range of tyres offers.”

MotoGP Results / Standings

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar