Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) recovered six positions today in the sprint race of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Italy, the sixth race of the season, to finish in 12th place after starting 18th.
The Portuguese completed the 11 laps 7.930 seconds behind the winner, Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), who left compatriot Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati) in second place, 0.369 seconds, and Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati ) in third place, a 0.952.
This was Bagnaia’s third victory in six sprint races this season so far.
Miguel Oliveira, who is still recovering from a broken left shoulder suffered at the Spanish Grand Prix, the fourth race of the season, started 18th, but was already 14th by the second lap.
The race was quite turbulent, not least because the Mugello circuit, in Italy, was in danger of getting a few drops of rain in the first few laps.
However, the water wasn’t enough for the riders to go to the ‘pits’ to switch to bikes with wet tyres.
Because they are faster races and with points only for the top nine, the maneuvers also become more aggressive as there is less margin to make up for lost time.
South African Brad Binder (KTM) was even penalized with a long lap for causing the fall of Spaniard Alex Márquez (Ducati) on the first lap.
Miguel Oliveira’s former partner set a new speed record in MotoGP events with a speed of 366.1 km/h.
Spaniard Alex Rins (Honda) also grounded and was eventually transported to the circuit’s medical center for tests.
Australian Jack Miller (KTM) was also involved in skirmishes and especially in a collision with Spaniard Marc Márquez (Honda), as a result of which the Catalan lost some positions.
Ducati finished in the top five with five bikes, while Frenchman Johann Zarco and Italian Luca Marini finished fourth and fifth respectively.
With these results, Francesco Bagnaia increased his lead in the Drivers’ Championship from one to four points over Marco Bezzecchi. Bagnaia, defending champion, now has 106 points, to Bezzecchi’s 102. Miguel Oliveira is 16th, with 21.
The main race of the Italian GP takes place on Sunday.
Source: DN
