Marc Márquez (P1) – “At the start of the race, I tried to manage tyre wear so I wouldn’t compromise things too early. Every time I tried to control the situation, Pecco came back on the attack. He was braking very hard and very late, while I was focusing more on corner speed. When Alex took the lead, I knew it was time to start pushing, because he had a really strong pace. Track conditions were quite tricky today, and maintaining a very fast rhythm was risky. If anyone had closed the gap, plan B was simply to bring the bike home.”
Alex Marquez (P2) – “Today was the almost-perfect version of myself. The red bikes were difficult to beat today, and despite that, we half did it. It could have been a good circuit to recover some points from Marc, but he did a better job. In any case, we’re heading into a busy time race-wise and it was important to start on the right foot.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio (P3) – “I grew up looking at the Italian riders on the Mugello podium. Being in third place in front of these amazing fans is a dream. In the race, when I was fourth, I was saying to myself ‘not a fourth place, not today’. I pushed until the end, and I gave everything, at the end we made a good overtake and we took the third place. It’s amazing for us, especially for the way we came back to our shape after the last difficult races. This result gives us a lot of motivation for the next races. We must work on the qualifying to start more in front, but the feeling of being on the podium in Italy is wonderful, I have goosebumps! And with these colors of the ‘Cremonini Live 25’ livery is even more special!”
Francesco Bagnaia (P4) – “Today, in front of this incredible crowd, I gave it everything. When I tried to set the pace at the front, I nearly crashed at the final corner. Unfortunately, when the front-end grip drops, I don’t have enough support and I struggle more. I need to stay a few tenths behind the rider in front, then quickly close the gap and try a pass — otherwise I risk losing the front. I have to accept that this is the situation for now and keep working with the team to find a solution, while always giving it my all.”
Marco Bezzecchi (P5) – “Support from the fans was spectacular and I truly gave one hundred percent, both Saturday and Sunday. It was a great race in terms of performance. I came back strong from behind and made some nice overtakes. We are growing and I must say that we worked rather well this weekend. I showed that I am pretty fast and always competitive. We need to keep this up, improving more and more.”
Franco Morbidelli (P6) – “I had a really good start and I was trying to manage the tyres at the maximum behind the top three guys, who were pushing a lot. I wanted to manage as much as possible to arrive with a good potential in the hardest moment of the race. But I made a mistake, and I had a battle with Vinales. Unfortunately, we had a contact,and he crashed. I apologised to him. I lost time for the double Long Lap, but we finished in sixth place, that is a decent result considering all the things that happened. There are positive aspects like the fastest lap in the race; so, it means that the potential is very high, we keep working to put all the things together.”
Pedro Acosta (P8) – “Tough race. The wrong choice with the tires. I was struggling to turn. The only fun thing was the battle with Brad. I could see he could turn the bike. It was super-nice and I enjoyed that. We’ll have to see how we can do in Assen.”
Brad Binder (P9) – “I got a decent start but didn’t really have the pace to go with the next group in front. I knew it was important to make the rear tire last until the end and also guard the front because it was very hot and I was surrounded by riders. I didn’t want it to tuck. It was a tricky race and I’m glad to finish. It’s by no means what I wanted but at least it’s a starting point. Importantly I found out what we need to finish for next week, and if we can get a little bit more stability it will be very beneficial.”
Joan Mir (P11) – “I’m happy that we were able to take the flag and take some points after a really difficult weekend. Doing anything more than what we achieved today, it would have been really hard and a big, big risk. We knew how tough it would be this weekend, so we made the most of it and tested a lot of different parts and setups for the RC213V. I think we were able to make use of our situation and get some good information for the engineers. The team did a great job to get us there. Now it’s time to go straight to Assen and aim for something more.”
Fermin Aldeguer (P12) – “It was a tough Sunday, but I’m happy because after that terrible mistake, I got back to the track and worked hard to be quick and gather some data and make more experience. From 19th to 12th is a good comeback, even though there’s some bitter taste because we could have battled for the podium.”
Miguel Oliveira (P13) – “Being the first Yamaha across the line makes it a little less disappointing, but honestly, the result and the gap to the front — 26 seconds — is what really matters, and it‘s too much. We lacked performance, we lacked pace, and managing the bike‘s vibrations was tough. The heat and the difficulty in overtaking made things nearly impossible. Just staying with the group in front meant pushing the tires to the limit, with no chance to manage anything. It was a tough race, but it is what it is. We‘ll analyse everything and aim to improve for Assen.”
Fabio Quartararo (P14) – “Today, my shoulder felt bad, of course, but it wasn’t the worst. The feeling we had with the bike this weekend was not great, apart from during FP1 and during the time attack, and physically it was really tough. I had expected to feel better here, but the hotter it is, the less grip we have, and today we knew grip would be really low. Let’s see what we can do at the GP in Assen next week.”
Alex Rins (P15) – “It was tough. Usually, you have to give it your all during the race, but you also need to manage and take care of the tyres. But because we’re still missing a little step, we have to go really at 100% every lap. In the first part of the Race, I was feeling a little bit better than in the Sprint, but as soon as I was behind Fabio, the tyres started to drop. I had to change my riding style. I’m 100% fit, but I was experiencing some discomfort on my right side – my neck, shoulder, and arm – because of the different manoeuvres and angles. We were struggling with rear grip, so that’s something we need to work on.”
Takaaki Nakagami (P16) – “I was targeting to finish in the points, and I was feeling good with my race pace early on. I lost a bit of time in the first part of the race but was able to steadily move ahead and pass some guys. Later in the race we had quite a bit of vibrating in the rear so I had to manage that to make sure we could finish. When Fermin arrived at the end, I didn’t have the pace to fight him that late, a shame to not get a point at least. I really enjoyed being with the factory team, a completely different approach inside and outside the garage and I was able to learn a lot. I think it will help with my main job in Japan to have even more information. Thanks to everyone in Honda HRC Castrol for this weekend.”
Lorenzo Savadori (P17) – “It was a fantastic race start. Both the bike and the solutions we are testing responded well. Unfortunately, I had a significant drop in the tyres from the ninth lap on. We are making progress and we had a great race in Mugello this year. We must remain optimistic. By testing the upgrades directly in the race environment, the bike is growing rapidly. We need to keep working this way because nothing is ever enough in MotoGP.”
Somkiat Chantra (P18) – “It was a tough race, and of course, I’m disappointed about what happened on the grid before the start. But we’re a team, and we learn together. I did my best to push despite the penalty and gave everything until the end. Now it’s time to reset, stay focused, and come back stronger in Assen”.
Jack Miller (DNF) – “Right from the start, the clutch basically burned itself out as soon as I let it go — even though my launch was good. For the first three laps it was slipping badly. I was short-shifting everywhere, trying to bring it back to life. It recovered somewhat, but every time I hit a bump, it felt like a kick and threw me wide. I got passed by everyone, and after a contact with someone on the first lap, I also lost a wing, which had me wheeling all over the place. Then we had a fuel issue that made the bike even more aggressive. At that point, it was basically unrideable. I tried to keep going, but in the end, I had to retire. It was a tough one, but we‘ll reset and look ahead.”
Maverick Viñales (DNF) – “A really positive weekend, to be honest. We are getting closer and closer. I was feeling great in the race and really controlling the rear tire. Unfortunately a rider touched me and I crashed, and this is part of racing. I could not finish but we have to be happy because we are fighting for the top positions. The important thing is to continue in this way and be nearer the front as quickly as possible. We are growing well.”
Enea Bastianini (DNF) – “One of the shortest races of my life! My start was good and I was close to the top ten and I tried to push. I lost time in the previous section and tried to make it up in the final corner but the front closed. It was important to make a good result both for me and the team because we were much faster this weekend and competitive in each session. This was one of the better GPs of the year and today could have been very good. It would have been useful for morale but, anyway, we learned a lot and we’ll be able to put this into the package. We’ll see for next time.”
Johann Zarco (DNF) – “I didn’t expect the crash, because I had felt good in that corner all weekend and actually enjoyed riding through it. I lost the front, and I believe it was due to the tyre temperature. It’s a pity, because after yesterday’s outcome I wanted to score some points and end the weekend on a positive note. That said, we had made a step forward, and I was enjoying the laps I completed, feeling strong and overtaking other riders, which was important. In any case, we’ll take the lessons from this weekend and try again in Assen.”
