MotoGP 2023 Round 6, Gran Premio d’Italia
Italy: Another phenomenal front-row performance from Marc Marquez was converted into a safe seventh place in a tense Sprint at the Italian GP.
Marc Marquez’s incredible run of Qualifying form continued as the eight-time World Champion produced his third front row from three appearances. As just one of two riders under the 1’45 barrier, Marquez was only bested by home hero Francesco Bagnaia with 0.078s splitting the pair. The performance surprised even Marquez himself, who was delighted with the front row.
Weather forecasts and dark clouds had loomed overhead for much of the day at the Autodromo Internazionale Del Mugello and spints of rain would make a brief appearance in the Sprint race. Defending an early attack from Jack Miller into Turn 1, Marquez held onto his second place as the 11-lap Sprint began. Spots of localized rain in the opening laps would bunch up the top ten and send the Italian crowd into a frenzy as they battled.
A small moment of contact between Miller and Marquez saw the #93 run wide, losing touch with the top five and settling in to chase down Miller in the battle for sixth. Less than 0.2s split the pair as they crossed the line, Marquez taking seventh place and content with the result which matched his pre-race predictions.
Marquez and the Repsol Honda Team will have another chance to battle around the 5.5 kilometres of the Mugello circuit on Sunday, June 11 as the Gran Premio d’Italia is scheduled for 14:00 Local Time.
Marc Marquez (seventh)
“The front row earlier today was really unexpected; this was a really positive point from today but we remained realistic about our targets. Today’s result in the Sprint was not a surprise, it’s what I was expecting before the day began. I tried to put together the perfect race and to stay right there in the group, waiting for an opportunity. We had a moment with Miller, it was nothing strange, just racing, but from that moment I lost a lot of positions and worked on rebuilding my race. Let’s see what will happen tomorrow.”
Italian GP – Sprint Race
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
| 1 | BAGNAIA Francesco | 1 | ITA | 12 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 19’41.183 |
| 2 | BEZZECCHI Marco | 72 | ITA | 9 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.368 |
| 3 | MARTIN Jorge | 89 | SPA | 7 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.952 |
| 4 | ZARCO Johann | 5 | FRA | 6 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1.009 |
| 5 | MARINI Luca | 10 | ITA | 5 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 3.668 |
| 6 | MILLER Jack | 43 | AUS | 4 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 3.772 |
| 7 | MARQUEZ Marc | 93 | SPA | 3 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 3.905 |
| 8 | ESPARGARO Aleix | 41 | SPA | 2 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 6.062 |
| 9 | BASTIANINI Enea | 23 | ITA | 1 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 6.431 |
| 10 | QUARTARARO Fabio | 20 | FRA | 0 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 6.458 |
| 11 | BINDER Brad | 33 | RSA | 0 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 6.672 |
| 12 | OLIVEIRA Miguel | 88 | POR | 0 | RNF MotoGP Team | Aprilia | 7.93 |
| 13 | VINALES Maverick | 12 | SPA | 0 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 9.022 |
| 14 | DI GIANNANTONIO Fabio | 49 | ITA | 0 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 11.508 |
| 15 | PIRRO Michele | 51 | ITA | 0 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 14.344 |
| 16 | MORBIDELLI Franco | 21 | ITA | 0 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 16.666 |
| 17 | NAKAGAMI Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 16.725 |
| 18 | SAVADORI Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | 0 | Aprilia Racing Test Team | Aprilia | 17.247 |
| 19 | FERNANDEZ Raul | 25 | SPA | 0 | RNF MotoGP Team | Aprilia | 21.596 |
| 20 | FERNANDEZ Augusto | 37 | SPA | 0 | Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing | KTM | 35.212 |
| 21 | FOLGER Jonas | 94 | GER | 0 | Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing | KTM | 46.189 |
| 22 | RINS Alex | 42 | SPA | DNF | LCR Honda | Honda | DNF |
| 23 | MARQUEZ Alex | 73 | SPA | DNF | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | DNF |
