Italian MotoGP: Bagnaia snatches top spot in Friday practice at Mugello

The first day of official MotoꦛGP action at Mugello since 2019 has ended with Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia snatching the top spot on his final lap of FP2.
The Ducati star, currently just one point from title leader Fabio Quartararo, i🧜mproved from sixth in the morning session to finish just 0.071s clear of Suzuki's Alex Rins.
Petronas rider Franco Morbidelli overcame a 20km/h top speed deficit on his A-Spec Yamaha to🌼 claim a strong third place, just ahead of Quartararo, who had looked on-course to go fastest with three minutes remaining only to hit traffic – much to his obvious anger.
KTM's Miguel Oliveira, using a new chassis, led for most of the afternoon but couldn't improve on new hard front and soft rear tyres and was eventually demoted to sixth, directly behind team-mate B💎rad Binder.
Qua🅠𝄹rtararo's Monster Yamaha team-mate and morning leader Maverick Vinales had an off-track moment at the end of the session and was left down in 17th as a result. However, the Spaniard's FP1 time put him eighth overall on the combined timesheets.
Mugello legend Rossi had 🌜an even tougher time in FP2, running through the gravel at turn 1 twice and being ranked 22nd and last, before gaining jꦯust one place in the closing stages on his Petronas Yamaha. However, Rossi was still within 1.6s of Bagnaia.
All four Yamaha riders have a front holeshot device available for the firs𓄧🌠t time this weekend.
Behind Oliveira, Takaaki Nakagami (top Honda), April🔴ia's Aleix Espargaro (riding for the first time since arm pump surgery), double 2021 race winner Jack Miller (Ducati) and Pramac's Johann Zarco (the only rider other than Vinales to go slower this afternoon) completed the top ten.
The fast Mugello corners seemed to torment Marc Marquez's weak right shᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ𒐪oulder and he was left towards the tail of the timesheets for much of the session, visibly wrestling to keep his RC213V on-line.
However, a late 🗹charge put Marquez into twelfth place, just ahead of Repsol Honda team-mate𓃲 Pol Espargaro.
While hard tyres made an appearanc𝓰e this afternoon, most preferred the medium🐟s before fitting new softs for the time attacks.
But the likes of Jack M🦹iller and Pramac stand-in Michele Pirro did the opposite, putting in lots of laps on the soft rear then using the m𝕴edium to set their best times at the end of the session.
The all time MotoGP lap record of 362.4km/h (225.2mph), set by Pramac ♑Ducati's Johann Zarco in Qa🎀tar FP4, remained unbeaten with the best speed of the day a 357.6km/h by Pirro, a new Mugello record.
But Ducati certainly didn't have it all their own way on the speed 𓄧charts with the KTM duo of Oliveira and Binder next fastest in ꦡFP2, with the Suzuki of Alex Rins best of the rest in seventh through the speed trap.
An interested tꦏrackside observer today was formeꦅr event winner Andrea Dovizioso, who has agreed to a series of further tests with Aprilia this year.
The fine weather is expected to continue at Mugello until race day morning, when there is a threat of raiജn.

Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exꦆit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.