By Daniele Capri
On Sunday, May 31, the Italian Grand Prix was held at the Mugello circuit, with MotoGP championship leader Marco Bezzecchi securing his first victory on home soil with Aprilia.
It was a race of first-time winners, with Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia both winning for the first time in Mugello.
Aprilia had never won in Italy before, but they secured the win with a one-two finish thanks to an incredible race by Jorge Martin.
Francesco Bagnaia, winner of three consecutive Italian Grand Prixs, managed to acquire third position from sixth.
Bagnaia led the race from the third lap after an incredible start, but Bezzecchi hunted him down with impeccable tyre management to take the lead.
Martin overtook Bagnaia after two laps, and the Italian had to defend the third position from Ai Ogura, who nearly took his position at the last lap, after a good comeback from a poor start of the race.
Defending champion Marc Marquez finished seventh after a long battle with Pedro Acosta and Fermin Aldeguer.
Marco Bezzecchi, Mugello’s hero
It was a dream weekend for Bezzecchi, who finally achieved one of his most precious dreams, winning at the Italian Grand Prix.
“Winning in Mugello was an indescribable emotion, as well as seeing all the fans and the team happy and emotional,” Bezzecchi mentioned in the post-race interview on MC News.
“Pecco (Francesco Bagnaia) had a rocket and he passed me,” Bezzecchi mentioned after seeing the Ducati of Bagnaia being super quick in the straights.
Bezzecchi said that he “didn’t panic” after seeing Bagnaia being super quick in the straights, adding: “I tried to stay close, but not too close to overheat everything.”
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Aprilia’s dream weekend
After a disastrous weekend in Barcelona, with Bezzecchi struggling in every session and Martin’s non-stop crashing, they have managed to conclude an incredible weekend with impeccable results.
Aprilia, with Trackhouse’s bike, managed to win the Sprint Race with Raul Fernandez, making them the manufacturer winner.
Bezzecchi secured a record-lap pole position in the qualifying, following behind Martin, making their bikes the fastest of the session.
It could have been a 1-2-3 finish in Mugello for Aprilia, as Ogura nearly overtook Bagnaia on his Trackhouse bike at the end of the lap, but only managed a 1-2, which is still an incredible result following Barcelona.
Championship standings
The championship battle still seems to be between Bezzecchi and Martin.
The Italian driver has extended his lead to 173 points over Martin, who has 156 points, following four victories and six podiums against one victory and four podiums.
In third place, Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is trying to close the gap with Martin at 134 points, after an incredible weekend in Barcelona, following his first win of the season with the VR46 team.
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Geoffrey H. Latayan 
SportJustSport writers 
Simon Wilkes