Rider Ratings: Four riders perfect at Mugello, but who are they?

Francesco Bagnaia - 10

(Qualified 5th, finished 1st)

Despite a poor start, Bagnaia managed to deliver the sort of race pace that made him the pre-race favourite. Bagnaia dropped down from fifth to ninth on the opening lap, but after quick overtakes on Marc Marquez, Takaaki Nakagami and Brad Binder, the factory Ducati rider immediately homed in on the top five. Picking off riders with ease into turn one, Bagnaia made his race winning move on Marco Bezzecchi at the same corner. 

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• 2022 Italian MotoGP, Mugello Circuit - Race Results 
• MotoGP Mugello: Francesco Bagnaia fights back to beat Fabio Quartararo

Fabio Quartararo - 10 

(Qualified 6th, finished 2nd)

Not expected to be in the fight for victory, last year’s Mugello race winner once again showed that writing off the reigning MotoGP champion is something you cannot do. The Yamaha rider made up for his lack of top speed - came under intense pressure throughout the race because of it - by picking off the Ducati’s during the opening part of the lap. Like in Jerez, Quartararo didn’t have to beat Bagnaia, however, the French rider’s pace was strong enough to keep the Italian at the limit. 

Aleix Espargaro - 9

(Qualified 7th, finished 3rd) 

Espargaro’s 2022 season keeps on giving after the Spaniard produced a flight back of his own to claim a fourth consecutive third place finish. Starting from seventh, Espargaro lost a couple of places at the start before showing late race pace to overhaul Mooney VR46 Ducati rider Marini and Bezzecchi, who were proving very tough to keep at bay. During the early stages Espargaro showed unusual aggressiveness as he pushed Quartararo wide at turn six, showing he’ll do whatever it takes to remain in the title fight.

Johann Zarco - 8

(Qualified 4th, finished 4th) 

A brilliant performance from Zarco as the Prima Pramac Racing rider came from ninth during the early stages to claim his third best finish of the season. With Jorge Martin struggling for form, Zarco continues to deliver for the satellite Ducati team.

Marco Bezzecchi - 10

(Qualified 2nd, finished 5th)

By far the best rookie so far this season, Bezzecchi gets his highest grade of the year after finishing fourth in Mugello. Three seconds off the win, the Italian proved to be a tough opponent for the likes of Quartararo and Bagnaia, and someone who could be fighting for podiums as the season develops. 

Luca Marini - 9

(Qualified 3rd, finished 6th) 

Like Bezzecchi, Marini produced his best race in MotoGP - not from a results point of view as he finished fifth in Austria last season - but with race pace, or a lack of it often proving too much to overcome, that not to be the case for Marini at Mugello. Steadily improving as the season’s gone on, the Italian is a good bet to build on his sixth place in the coming rounds.

Brad Binder - 10

(Qualified 16th, finished 7th)

One of the rides of the season, Binder showed devastating pace at the beginning in order to make up seven places. Sitting in eighth place with a few laps to go, the factory KTM rider continued his forward progress when Enea Bastianini crashed out at turn four. The South African’s late race pace was as good as anyone as he once again out-performed his RC16. 

Takaaki Nakagami - 7

(Qualified 8th, finished 8th)

Another good performance from Nakagami who has significantly turned his form around since Jerez. The Japanese rider finishes as the top Honda for the first time this season.  

Miguel Oliveira - 8

(Qualified 15th, finished 9th)

Another rider who made impressive progress throughout the Italian MotoGP was Oliveira as the Portuguese rider followed team-mate Binder in carving his way up to ninth from 15th. 

Marc Marquez - 7

(Qualified 12th, finished 10th) 

After a massive highside in qualifying which was then followed by a shock announcement that he would be taking a step away from racing [after Mugello] in order to have a fourth operation on his right shoulder, Marquez delivered a heroic effort to claim tenth, despite riding with ‘limitations’. 

Fabio Di Giannantonio - 8

(Qualified 1st, finished 11th)

A weekend where he clinched his maiden MotoGP pole, Di Giannantonio looked set to battle for a podium during the early laps, however, the pace soon became too hot to handle as he instead dropped down to 11th come the checkered flag. 

Maverick Vinales - 8

(Qualified 24th, finished 12th)

Although 12th is not a result Vinales or Aprilia would want, the Italian MotoGP was one of his better performances for the Noale-based manufacturer as he gained 12 places in the race. 

Jorge Martin - 5

(Qualified 11th, finished 13th)

Another difficult weekend for Martin as the second-year MotoGP rider lacked pace relative to other Ducati’s. 

Alex Marquez - 5

(Qualified 18th, finished 14th)

Marquez endured another difficult weekend as he was often the fourth fastest Honda. Crashes meant two points were scored by the LCR rider. 

Jack Miller - 5

(Qualified 13th, finished 15th)

A very unusual performance from Miller, the Lenovo Ducati rider was unable to show any pace as he was instead mired back in the mid-field pack.

Darryn Binder - 6

(Qualified 20th, finished 16th) 

Moving up four spots, Binder narrowly missed out on a second points finish this season. 

Franco Morbidelli - 4

(Qualified 23rd, finished 17th) 

Regularly four tenths off team-mate Quartararo during practice, Morbidelli’s home round at Mugello was a continuation of his disappointing 2022 season. After qualifying 23rd, Morbidelli made slight progress due to several riders crashing ahead of him, but even so, the 2020 runner-up was unable to claim points.

Michele Pirro - 6

(Qualified 14th, finished 18th) 

A strong performance for Michele Pirro in his first wildcard appearance of the 2022 season.

Remy Gardner - 4

(Qualified 19th, finished 19th) 

A difficult race for Gardner and Tech 3 KTM as finishing in the points was again a long way away for the Moto2 world champion.

Andrea Dovizioso - 4

(Qualified 26th, finished 20th) 

In what was turning out to be a disastrous weekend, one of the worst of Dovizioso’s career after qualifying last, the RNF Yamaha rider failed to improve his pace during the race as he finished 20th. Dovizioso was not only last of the four M1 Yamaha riders, but  over half a minute down on Quartararo.

Raul Fernandez - 4 

(Qualified 25th, finished 21st)

A star of the future, Fernandez will be hoping that comes true as the Spaniard’s debut season in MotoGP has proved very challenging. 

Lorenzo Savadori - 4

(Qualified 22nd, finished 22nd)

Bringing up the rear of the field, Lorenzo Savadori was the only rider to be a lap down after encountering problems early on.  

Pol Espargaro - 3

(Qualified 9th, finished DNF) 

A costly mistake at turn nine meant Espargaro was the first rider to retire from the Italian MotoGP. 

Enea Bastianini - 3

(Qualified 10th, finished DNF) 

A three-time race winner so far this season, Bastianini appeared set for a late podium charge after rapidly catching the group in front. But as the Italian looked to be frustrated and on the limit while behind Espargaro, a crash then followed after losing the front-end. 

Alex Rins - 3

(Qualified 21st, DNF) 

After looking like an early season favourite for the title, Rins’ championship charge suffered yet another huge hit after crashing out at turn 12. Rins was unable to show the type of pace we’ve often seen from him in 2022, a surprise given Suzuki were expected to be very strong at Mugello. 

Joan Mir - 3

(Qualified 17th, finished DNF) 

Like his team-mate, Mir suffered his second crash in as many races, which has since left the Spaniard 66 points behind Quartararo. With his future left to be decided, Mir will be hoping for a return to form in Barcelona next weekend.