It had been five years since Ducati had lost a single race at Mugello in its home Grand Prix. Things of fate, the notable defeat, which was not surprising, came this Saturday during the centenary celebrations of the Borgo Panigale factory and, to make matters worse, at the hands of its neighbor in Noale. of the MotoGP world in 2026: first at the hands of poleman and leader of the competition Marco Bezzecchi in the timed and, above all, with a marvelous performance by Raúl Fernández from Madrid in the sprint.
an American client of the Italian squad, flew from the second place on the grid and commanded the short test from the third corner to the finish line, keeping at bay his brand mate Jorge Martín and Fabio Di Giannantonio, in charge of saving the honor ducatists on the podium. The MotoGP race will be at 2:00 p.m. this Sunday (DAZN).
Aprilia’s marvelous Saturday, which for the first time in history placed three motorcycles on the front row of the grid and took its first pole on the track since 1999, he did not hide just 20 days after the ninth intervention on his right arm. The defender of the crown and Ducati’s mainstay achieved fourth place on the grid and was placed first when braking in turn one, then losing steam as the laps passed, as logic indicated. “I started with energy, but then I looked for a comfortable pace to finish without overdoing it or falling. If I get hot I have the chance to lose. The goal is to do a decent race and finish it,” he commented, physically satisfied.
After the surprise of the 93 at the start and the slip of Bezzecchi, who finished fourth after falling hard at the start, Fernández immediately took command and, with whom he had a tough time in the last Catalunya GP (both ended up on the ground after a crash). The Madrid duo maintained a safe distance on this occasion and the race had no more history. In the first laps, Brazilian rookie Diogo Moreira managed to ride third firmly, light years ahead of his Honda teammates, but as the laps went by and the tires wore out, logic ended up taking over.
The triumph of Fernández, 25 years old, comes at a crucial moment in his career. When the majority of the grid is decided ahead of the revolutionary 2027, he is still waiting to sign his next contract. The Montmeló brawl did not help in this sense, but the best result of his life in Mugello, where he had only been on the podium in Moto2, put him back on the right course. The American team is happy with its performance and attitude in general terms, but the passport does not help when there is a clear Spanish overpopulation in the paddock of MotoGP, something that the new owners of the show are not crazy about at all,
“This is being one of the most difficult moments of my sporting career, and I don’t know without my family I would be here today,” said the winner of the day, visibly moved and very grateful to his brother Adrián, a Moto3 rider and his pillar inside and outside the garage. “We are going to enjoy whatever comes, the race on Sunday, because these have been difficult weeks, we are not in an easy situation, and it is difficult for me to think about the future,” he added. Until now he had not gone higher than seventh place on the track in his five campaigns in the premier category, and his result this Saturday is another sign that confirms the form found at the end of last year, when he won his first grand prix in Australia and then repeated podiums in Valencia and Thailand, the last and first test of 2025 and 2026 respectively. His victory also underlines the strengths of the RS-GP, perhaps the most balanced and adaptable motorcycle in the entire championship at this point in the film.
