Jorge Martin (in front of the picture) and Johann Zarco (back left, both Prima Pramac Ducati Racing), along with their works driver colleague “Pecco” Bagnaia, were the two most influential figures of the sixth round of 2023 in Mugello. The Spaniard and the Frenchman are teammates in the 3rd year in what is currently the best team in MotoGP, which is in the lead in the interim classification of the team championship after 6 of an expected 20 rounds.

Trump was bored in Tuscany

As in WorldSBK, the Prototype World Championship is apparently developing more and more into the Ducati Brand Cup. After all, the Reds win in MotoGP with fair means and are not preferred by FIM and Dorna as in the series-based World Championship. Nevertheless, this is of course poison for the image and above all the tension for the viewers. In any case, it’s not good for the series when 5 Ducatis are in front in the sprint race and four of them in the Grand Prix on Sunday. On both occasions, the world championship leader was right at the front and thus significantly increased his lead, while almost all of his strongest rivals stumbled. First and foremost Marco Bezzecchi, who after all achieved the fifth-best result of all drivers in Mugello, but lost no fewer than 20 points to works team-mate Bagnaia. Going into the sixth round of 20, the flagship of Valentino Rossi’s Mooney VR46 team was separated by just one point from the reigning World Champion.

With the exception of Round 4 at Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Ducati) has been the most consistent man so far in the first third of the season. In the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello, however, the Italian, who belongs to Valentino Rossi’s team, lost touch with his brand colleague Bagnaia to a certain extent.

Monotony in Moto2 too

In the home of World Championship leader Tony Arbolino, the Spaniard Pedro Acosta managed an unchallenged start-finish victory. According to him, Sam Lowes also had excellent pace, but his race was over shortly after the start. This time the Englishman found himself in the gravel trap as so often, but his crash was definitely not his fault. The villain responsible for this, Alonso Lopez, was immediately and rightly punished by the race control with a long lap penalty. Unfortunately for him, he made a mistake and had to take a detour over the gravel trap, dropping from P2 to ninth place. Arbolino kept his championship lead in second place and if he finishes at least tenth a week later at the Sachsenring, he can keep it until the Assen weekend.

When he passed the checkered flag, Pedro Acosta was already worlds ahead of his pursuers. The Spaniard is one of the hottest contenders for the premier class in the coming year. However, he is getting his employer KTM into trouble because a two-year plan is actually planned for their MotoGP riders and the Spaniard should only be promoted in 2025, according to the strategists of the oranges.

Only the Moto3 provided the right spice

Without the junior class, the visitors would have gotten little for their money unless they were Ducati fans and the rest didn’t matter to them. With Daniel Holgado there was the first triple winner of the season in the Moto3 Grand Prix. Behind the Spaniard, KTM colleague Deniz Öncü and the Japanese Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna, pronounced KTM) saw the checkered flag, ahead of the Colombian David Alonso (GasGas, pronounced KTM) and the second-best Spaniard Jaume Masia on the best Honda from Leopard Racing. With Holgado in front of Masia and their Spanish compatriot Ivan Ortola, three Iberians are leading the World Cup ahead of the Brazilian Diogo Moreira and Sasaki.

How it goes on

At the Sachsenring in mid-June, the main question is whether Marc Marquez will regain his old strength after his crash in the main races at Le Mans and Mugello. In that case, the Catalan would automatically be the man to beat in East Germany. Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez has won the MotoGP race at the Sachsenring no fewer than eight times in a row. Seven times from pole position. The Spaniard even has eleven wins across all classes, which is why he laughed after his triumph in 2019 and said that he felt as comfortable in Saxony as most Germans did in Mallorca. In a separate preliminary report we will go into the German round, which is completely contrary to Mugello in terms of the route characteristics.

The Sachsenring is unique in many ways, especially in terms of its very short track length compared to other circuits and the layout with only 3 right-hand corners. As long as Marc Marquez is fit in Saxony and doesn’t fall, he is the big favorite to win the premier class.

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