Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) at his possibly last Italian Grand Prix in Mugello – until Assen he wants to decide whether to continue his career. If he ties this to the results, then the announcement of his resignation can definitely be expected.

Qualifying of MotoGP in Mugello – a Saturday with many surprises

At Marc Marquez, after his arm, it is now the shoulder that is causing the Catalan and his team great worries. According to Alberto Puig, it is still being clarified with the doctors whether a star makes sense at all. Of course, there are increasing voices saying that he simply risked his comeback too soon. The alleged Honda problems are also not yet off the table, with Pol Espargaró proving with P9 that it can also be used in Mugello directly into Q2. The fact that Takaaki Nakagami missed the podium by just 0.6 seconds in Jerez underlines that the competitiveness of the current RC213V is actually beyond question. But of course the media and commentators are still swapping this into a never-ending story, as it seems to be in line with their professional understanding. Sensations sell better than everyday things. Apart from the sometimes unnecessary and unavoidable background noises, there were still numerous surprises.

Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati Racing) was only in P11 after FP2 – but the fast man from Cannes drove directly into Q2 on Saturday morning with the fifth fastest time and he is one of the ones again in the 6th round of the World Cup at the Italian GP Podium candidates.

The Q1 of MotoGP
It was funny how some commentators around us were amazed at the positions in FP4 before that, even though it wasn’t about anything. For example, the English were completely disappointed with Johann Zarco only on P15. The Frenchman has exactly 15 minutes ahead of him in Q2, which is about something, and why should he risk his head and neck in free practice? But first things got down to business in Q1 and the list of contenders for the second qualifying included many illustrious names again, not for the first time. Maverick Viñales also had to go into Q1 due to a crash in FP3 and in the first stint things didn’t go as planned for him. Shaking his head, he then got off his Monster Energy Yamaha in front of the pit.

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha) – at the Autodromo del Mugello – on Saturday, the Yamaha star was quite rightly angry about the very questionable behaviour of a man who raises more and more questions and whose unpopularity in the paddock increases almost daily.

Marquez – the stalker
In the end, it was almost enough for Maverick, but he was formally stalked by Marc Marquez, who, as usual, was not punished by the race management. So the Repsol Honda rider made it into Q2 in his slipstream and the Yamaha rider failed at the last attempt, presumably because the qualifying tires were already waning. Aleix Espargaró was a touch faster and thus the second in Q2, alongside the increasingly controversial Marc Marquez. After the Suzuki riders, this time it was a Yamaha rider who was royally angry about the 6-time MotoGP world champion.

Fabio Quartararo in the Monster Energy Yamaha Box – he took provisional pole in FP3 on Saturday morning and was the man to be beaten in the second qualifying.

Q2 of MotoGP – two French on the first row with an Italian in a sandwich
His controversial move in Q1 only paid off for Marquez by two positions, while Aleix Espargaró caused a minor sensation at Aprilia with starting position 4. The man who outshone everything with his pole position, however, was Fabio Quartararo. Now it will be seen on Sunday whether the new starter device from Yamaha will bring an advantage or at least a minor disadvantage over the Ducati. Next to him, local hero Pecco Bagnaia and Johann Zarco, two of the reds will start the race and behind them Jack Miller lurks in row two in third, and Brad Binder with the best KTM in Q2. His team-mate Miguel Oliveira was only one place lower than the South African, and he will start the race from row 3 alongside the two Suzuki Asse Rins and Mir. Morbido stands next to the two Repsol Hondas on Sunday and from row 4 the second-best Italian at the Italian GP definitely has no easy task ahead of him. Likewise, his brand colleague Maverick Viñales from row 5.

Moto2 Qualifying

On the front row of the grid, Sam Lowes is in a Spanish sandwich between rookie Raul Fernandez and his compatriot Jorge Navarro. Row two are world championship leader Gardner with “Di Gia” and the Moto3 winner of 2019 in the person of Tony Arbolino. Marcel Schrötter is in row 3 with Marco Bezzecchi and Xavi Vierge in front of Joe Roberts, Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Ai Ogura. Things went very badly again for Tom Lüthi, fourth from last, and Cameron Beaubier in row 9 and Jake Dixon just before that were anything but satisfied after qualifying.

Moto3 qualifying – a heavy shadow lies over Tuscany

While Max Kofler was second to last in Q1, his teammate Kaito Toba, his compatriot Tatsuki Suzuki, World Championship leader Pedro Acosta and Niccolò Antonelli made it into Q2. The second qualifying was overshadowed by Dupasquier after a violent fall, who was then on the track and received medical care. Sasaki and Alcoba were also involved in this accident, but got away uninjured or at least with minor injuries. How long the doctors looked after the young Swiss man before he was rescued did not suggest anything good. When the red flags came, the time had already run out and with Suzuki in front of Acosta, two drivers from Q1 were at the top of the ranking and thus at the front of the grid. Gabriel Rodrigo completes row 1 and behind them Dennis Foggia, Jaume Masia and Jeremy Alcoba will start the race on Sunday. Below is the Moto3 grid for the 6th round of the World Championship for the Italian Grand Prix.

Autodromo Internazionale di Mugello

The grandstand and route map of the Autodromo Internazionale di Mugello with the start-finish in the centre of the picture and the only covered grandstand in green, which is why sunscreen is definitely recommended if you want to sit there for hours. Otherwise, burns are inevitable.

World Championship stand in all classes before the 6th round at Mugello

Lorenzo Dalla Porta’s number of points is in red because the Italian’s 5 points with 11th place were withdrawn due to his disqualification due to falling below the minimum total weight by 1 kg in the evening after the race.

Mugello Grand Prix and WorldSBK Estoril schedule

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© MotoGP).