- Di Giannantonio dominates Friday practice to lead Ducati charge at Mugello.
- Pedro Acosta faces tough Q1 shootout after late mistake in Italy.
- Five dominant Ducati riders secure direct Q2 entry on home soil.
Fabio Di Giannantonio has put Ducati on the front foot at Mugello after topping both Friday sessions, while Pedro Acosta’s difficult Friday leaves him needing to fight through Q1 on Sprint Saturday.
Di Giannantonio ended Friday Practice for the Italian Grand Prix as fastest with a 1:44.808 for Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, 0.091s ahead of factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia.
Enea Bastianini was third for Tech3, with Franco Morbidelli fourth and Fermin Aldeguer fifth, giving the home crowd an Italian 1-2-3-4 and putting five Ducati riders inside the top six once Marc Marquez completed his return in sixth.
MotoGP Mugello – Friday practice classification
The top 10 secure automatic entry into today’s Q2 qualifying session:
| Pos | Rider | Team / Bike | Lap Time | Gap |
| 1 | 🇮🇹 Fabio Di Giannantonio | Pertamina Enduro VR46 (Ducati) | 1:44.808 | — |
| 2 | 🇮🇹 Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team (Ducati) | 1:44.899 | +0.091 |
| 3 | 🇮🇹 Enea Bastianini | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (KTM) | 1:44.911 | +0.103 |
| 4 | 🇮🇹 Franco Morbidelli | Pertamina Enduro VR46 (Ducati) | 1:44.959 | +0.151 |
| 5 | 🇪🇸 Fermín Aldeguer | Gresini Racing (Ducati) | 1:45.004 | +0.196 |
| 6 | 🇪🇸 Marc Márquez | Ducati Lenovo Team (Ducati) | 1:45.010 | +0.202 |
| 7 | 🇮🇹 Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia Racing (Aprilia) | 1:45.080 | +0.272 |
| 8 | 🇪🇸 Jorge Martín | Aprilia Racing (Aprilia) | 1:45.132 | +0.324 |
| 9 | 🇪🇸 Álex Rins | Monster Energy Yamaha (Yamaha) | 1:45.149 | +0.341 |
| 10 | 🇧🇷 Diogo Moreira | Pro Honda LCR (Honda) | 1:45.162 | +0.354 |
| 11 | 🇯🇵 Ai Ogura | Trackhouse Racing (Aprilia) | 1:45.241 | +0.433 |
| 12 | 🇪🇸 Raúl Fernández | Trackhouse Racing (Aprilia) | 1:45.270 | +0.462 |
| 13 | 🇪🇸 Pedro Acosta | Red Bull KTM Factory (KTM) | 1:45.294 | +0.486 |
| 14 | 🇪🇸 Maverick Viñales | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (KTM) | 1:45.469 | +0.661 |
| 15 | 🇪🇸 Joan Mir | Honda HRC Castrol (Honda) | 1:45.595 | +0.787 |
| 16 | 🇦🇺 Jack Miller | Prima Pramac Yamaha (Yamaha) | 1:45.617 | +0.809 |
| 17 | 🇫🇷 Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha (Yamaha) | 1:45.670 | +0.862 |
| 18 | 🇿🇦 Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory (KTM) | 1:45.804 | +0.996 |
| 19 | 🇮🇹 Luca Marini | Honda HRC Castrol (Honda) | 1:45.954 | +1.146 |
| 20 | 🇹🇷 Toprak Razgatlioglu | Prima Pramac Yamaha (Yamaha) | 1:46.299 | +1.491 |
| 21 | 🇮🇹 Michele Pirro | BK8 Gresini Racing (Ducati) | 1:46.842 | +2.034 |
| 22 | 🇬🇧 Cal Crutchlow | Castrol Honda LCR (Honda) | 1:48.088 | +3.280 |
Statement from Di Giannantonio
The session was not without incident. Fabio Quartararo’s crash at Turn 4 caused the first red flag after his Yamaha came back onto the circuit, while Brad Binder’s KTM stoppage near the pit exit triggered a second. Both incidents were cleared quickly, but they compressed the final window and raised the jeopardy level for anyone trying to secure direct Q2 entry.
Di Giannantonio handled that pressure well. His Ducati dominated the decisive late runs, with Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, Morbidelli, Aldeguer and Marquez all lowering the earlier Aprilia benchmark in quick succession.
Mugello is Ducati’s home circuit, and Di Giannantonio’s arrival as, now, the rider to beat changes the dynamic of today’s qualifying and Sprint build-up.
Bagnaia has the factory badge, Marquez has the champion’s aura, and Bezzecchi is the championship-leader for Aprilia, but Di Giannantonio made the first statement of the weekend. After winning in Barcelona, he now has another chance to turn VR46’s momentum into big points.
Asprilia riders still in contention
Acosta’s position is the other big talking point. The Red Bull KTM rider finished 13th after a late mistake and will have to go through Q1, as will Binder, Maverick Vinales, Fabio Quartararo, Jack Miller and Joan Mir. That is a tough group for the first qualifying segment, and one small error could end the chances of a big name before the pole fight even begins.
Ducati’s pace at Mugello is no surprise, but the scale of it should worry everyone else on the grid. And with five Ducatis inside the top six, it was a clear show of strength.
Aprilia still has both title contenders safely through to Q2, though, after Marco Bezzecchi finished seventh and Jorge Martin recovered late on in the session to finish eighth.
FP2 and Sprint incoming…
Marquez’s sixth place is also notable. His earlier medical clearance made the comeback possible, and Friday’s pace showed he can still operate near the front even when in recovery. He may not yet have race-pace over the full race distance, but it gives Ducati another option for Saturday.
All eyes are now on today’s FP2, qualifying and Sprint at Mugello.
With Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, Bastianini, Morbidelli, Aldeguer, Marquez, Bezzecchi, Martin, Alex Rins and rookie Diogo Moreira already in Q2, the pressure is on Acosta, Quartararo and the rest of the Q1 group.
If one of the big names misses the cut, Friday’s messy practice session could be the session that shapes this Italian Grand Prix weekend.
