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Bagnaia leads Italian 1-2 as Miller faces knockout

Bagnaia Italy 2023

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 10 June 2023

MotoGP is back after almost a month off in Italy this weekend and home hero Francesco Bagnaia looks fast on home soil.

Italian duo Bagnaia and Ducati are the combination to beat after the reigning world champion finished Friday fastest with a 1:45.436.

Right behind him is fellow Ducati rider, but title rival Marco Bezzecchi as their rivalry looks set to ignite at their home track Muguello with qualifying and the Sprint ahead on Saturday.

Just 0.063s split the duo who have won four of the first five Grands Prix this year, while Bagnaia leads the standings by just a solitary point.

Behind them is the only other rider to win a race so far in 2023, LCR Honda’s Alex Rins.

Brad Binder sits fourth in the KTM and is followed by three Ducatis rides by Enea Bastianini and the Pramac duo.

Marc Marquez, Aleix Espargaro and Luca Marini complete the rest of the top 10.

A notable absentee is Australia’s Jack Miller, who could only record the 14th fastest time, seven tenths off the pace.

This means Miller must negotiate the intense Q1 knockout phase where only the top two riders progress to join the top 10 in the fight for pole of both the Sprint and Grand Prix.

The Aussie was on a late fast lap, which was stopped in its tracks by a late yellow flag caused by Di Giannantonio, who found the gravel at Turn 1.

Another big name that was hurt by the late interruption was Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, who was 15th.

The remainder of the weekend will go ahead without Repsol Honda rider Joan Mir, who has withdrawn from the event following his 12th crash of the season during FP2.

Bagnaia would love nothing more than to score back to back wins on his home track for Ducati.

Action intensifies around the twisty Mugullo circuit tonight with Qualifying and the Sprint taking place at 18.50 and 23.00 AEST respectively.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the recent issue of AUTO ACTION.

If you can’t get a copy locally, you can also subscribe to the print or digital edition of the magazine here.

PODCAST: The latest episode of the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast is out now!

Andrew Clarke and Auto Action’s Bruce Williams and ARG’s Barry Rogers sat down for a candid chat ahead of the SpeedSeries trip to Winton.

Listen to the RevLimiter podcast on your podcast app of choice or here on the RevLimiter website

AUTO ACTION, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport.

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