Today’s MotoGP race at Mugello was held under tragic circumstances following the death of 19-year-old Swiss Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier, who passed away as a result of injuries sustained during Moto3 qualifying yesterday.
After observing a minute of silence for young Jason, the MotoGP riders, some of whom felt it was inappropriate to race after the loss of a compatriot, took to the track for the start of the Italian GP. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) started from pole and won the race in convincing fashion after taking the lead very early when Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) crashed out.
The battle for the remaining podium positions behind Quartararo included Johann Zarco (Ducati) and Alex Rins (Suzuki) until Zarco faded back from second position to finish fourth and Rins crashed out. This was the fourth race in a row where Rins has crashed and been unable to complete the race.
At the checkered flag, Miguel Oliveira (KTM) held off defending champ Joan Mir (Suzuki) to take second place, while Mir filled out the podium.
Quartararo takes a 24 point lead in the championship over Zarco with Bagnaia in third place, 26 points back of Quartararo. For full results of today’s race, take a look here. You can find additional details on the MotoGP site.
Sad to hear all the negative comments about any rider on the current motogp grid. All of them possess skills far in excess of any of those that post these comments. If the slowest rider on the motogp grid showed up at your local club race, track day, or even a fast street ride they would be gone and out of sight before any of us could believe possible. They are the best on the planet and we should all be grateful that we get to watch them from the safety of our couches. Their different personalities make it that much more interesting and exciting. Can’t see how we should be hating any of them. They all have my respect.
You talking about MM, right? I’d love for him to show up at a track day, follow him into the pits and discuss the finer points of why he’s such an asshole in motogp and why the racing is so much better with him sitting at home.
But I doubt I’d get the chance as I don’t ride the track no mo.
So let’s see. If you still got the chance to ride the track some mo you would just go ahead and have the discussion then, right. You must be special to have gotten to attend all those track days at the same tracks as Marquez.
Just wanted to be clear on what you said.
Great post by the way Bill.
“Yo no hablo ingles…”
Why would a world champion waste his time with that garbage?
Funny how some over invested fans can psycho analyze a foreign man who only speaks on screen in his 2nd or 3rd language for a few minutes at a time.
Beautiful to watch FQ20 glide to victory. So smooth. As others have observed, there’s something reminiscent to JL99 about his style, and as goofy as the kid is, it is poetry to watch him ride that Yamaha. I hope he takes it this year.
Everyone still think MM93 is back?
Rossi. My man. You have had your time in the sun. It was brilliant. White hot. Not without controversies, but a ton of fun to watch, both because of the way you rode those bikes and also because of your quirky, super-Italian personality. But that sun has set, that ship has sailed. Please, hang up the gloves. Go manage your team. You’ll still have all your fans. You’ll help sell a lot of (presumably) Ducatis. It’s time.
Sorry. I’d rather see Rossi race until he is at least fifty. I get it that some of the people here don’t like to see their old heroes age. But for me it is as simple as this.
Did he finish in the top ten?
Yes.
Did he finish ahead of the first Honda (evil empire)?
Yes.
Is he the only rider on the track who has proven that he can race a real race bike (two stroke with no electronic rider aids)?
Yes.
What were your arguments for him retiring again? I’m having trouble deciphering them.
And you really think those are credible arguments for him not retiring? That he rode an antique GP bike and managed to finish 10th for this race, ahead of the Hondas? Rossi is 19th in the points and ahead of no Hondas. The fact that he rode a two-stroke GP bike proves nothing as far as I’m concerned except that once rode a two-stroke GP bike like everyone else from that era. I think he is officially washed up.
That said, I personally don’t care. He can race for as long as he can put a motorcycle underneath him. If he wants to ride out his career battling for 15th place, who are we to tell him no? Only Rossi or the availability of a seat should dictate his retirement date.
The MM93 haters here. Wow.
Let’s talk instead about the 5-6 straight laps from Fabio that were identical times. He’s getting into robotic precision like Lorenzo used to do. What sort of voodoo is going on at Yamaha? LoL!
And now for a moment of silence for Jason’s family. So sad….
Curious what’s going on with the Marquez brothers. Last year Alex showed so much promise and this year…bust. And why did Marc run into Binder like that? Why did the KTMs go from being awful the first few races to suddenly competitive? Did Rossi come down with sudden-onset arthritis or something? Sheesh, man, turn the ride over to someone else so they can earn a living. It appears Mir has really gotten in Rins’ head as he appears to be overriding to beat his teammate.
Rattled by the loss of Jason Dupasquier. Dang…checkers were out in qualifying and he’d already cemented the 11th spot on the grid. What an awful tragedy. So refreshing to see real people react from the heart. I’ve always said motorcycle people are the best of the best and everyone who spoke did the sport proud. RIP, young man.
To Dorna’s credit they organized a moment of silence just before the MotoGP race as a small but appropriate memorial to the late Jason Dupasquier, RIP. mm93 was the last racer to appear in the line, he looked distant, uninterested and he arrived a very few seconds before the moment started.
mm93 is arrogant, entitled, myopic, small-minded, self-obsessed, lacks empathy and he’s a terrible loser. When he wins he sticks his tongue out and his phony, constant and flippant smile indicates he has just enough patience to talk to the world’s meaningless peons from his Mt. Olympus throne. He’s an embarrassment to himself and his family. When he loses for two consecutive seasons it’s, “Screw the world.” His general zeitgeist losing and winning are similar.
Obviously Vinales was weak, foolish and immature to let mm93 get to him during qualifying. But what strategic reason could mm93 possibly have to pick on Maverick at that time and place? Was this some strange and completely misplaced mm93 blame for Maverick being the one mm93 attempted to pass when mm93 crashed during 2020’s first race? Weird.
I do not and shall not miss mm93; the sooner the world ignores this pathetic personality the better.
Pre-2020 race 1 almost every chance event turned in mm93’s favor; since then his results have “returned to the mean” and even his riches and cosmetic dentistry won’t win him a break. Honda placed most of their eggs in the mm93 basket which for the past two seasons has been barren.
We all get that you hate Marquez. He chose Maverick to tow because Maverick was the fastest guy in practice relegated to Q2. Getting a tow is nothing new and used by all the riders to get a better qualifying time. Most are not as patented obvious as that was but they all do it. Marquez talked to Maverick before the press conference and apologized to him, and Maverick understood, because he has done the same thing before himself. They all have. Watch the final 2 laps of any qualifying session and you will see riders using the tow. Rossi used it to get on the front row a couple races ago. It’s a valuable racing tactic. Racers use it to draft and pass to the finish line or pass down a long straight if they don’t have enough horsepower. Towing is just a racing tool. You don’t get to be a multi time champion by not using any tools inside the rules available to you.
I reserve hatred for warmongers which AFAIK mm93 is not (my all time favorite movie is a classic black and white no one reading this has seen called The Americanization Of Emily starring James Garner and Julie Andrews.)
Calling someone a hater is an excruciatingly weak non-defense of someone who has repeatedly exhibited so many bad personality defects as mm93 has, to wit yesterday (viewing this video requires a MotoGP subscription:) https://www.motogp.com/en/videos/2021/05/30/it-was-my-fault-marquez-takes-the-blame-for-lap-1-crash/376222
Is Fabio holding an Italian flag atop this page? I don’t think so. And in the above video, not only does mm93 chose to not know the name and/or to not repeat the name of the deceased son of Switzerland Jason Dupasquier, but he talks about losing an “Italian.” Completely beyond mm93s ESL status, he garbles only gibberish about Saturday’s crash; I challenge his admirers to quote one, I repeat one, declarative sentence by mm93 Re. the crash. He can’t form a sentence about the crash because he does not give a crap about it. Sorry I did not hear one if it exists.
I’ll repeat my former accusation: mm93 is an embarrassment to himself and his family. To his credit (no sarcasm) he lost half his frozen-in-place smirk during this interview. Marc if your smirk is a facial defect I apologize.
Contrast mm93’s strange behavior to the winner and all 3 on the podium who spoke Jason’s name with reverence and some wore his name on their helmets and/or uniform.
I’d love (no sarcasm) to read some enduring things about mm93 outside his 8 championships because I’ve never seen any such reports.
Google images of “mark marquez sticks out his tongue.” Who does that more than 8 years of age?
Losing Jason is really sad, he looks like he is only 15. Quartararo is on a tear and appears to matching his speed with consistency. I’d like to see Franco take Maverick’s since I don’t think he is Top Gun material. Zarco is fast and consistent and I see him giving Fabio a run for the prize, I was a little down on him when he quit KTM. This may be another year where Ducati has the best bike and loses once again, they should take a run at Franco. Some of the Márquez comments here are comical , as a pure fan I don’t understand how one would think the series is better without him. He has a combination of being the most gifted rider with an exceptionally large nutsack. I have been watching this this sport since the 80’s and Márquez is the most amazing rider I have ever seen. I don’t follow or try to analyze post celebrations or try to break down racers on a personal level. If you want , I think you can find many images of riders sticking there tongues out.
Quite often these people will think riding around a track with a blow up doll is refreshing.
Good post todd.
I don’t watch Marquez for his humanitarian ways, I watch him for his racing skills which are incredible. I don’t expect him to know the name and nationality of every racer in Moto 2,and Moto 3.
I know he loves his job, he loves racing motorcycles, he loves his family and he doesn’t blame anyone else for his misfortunes on the track.
He’s smart, savvy, and aggressive when riding (the same attributes Valentino Rossi had before he got old and his skills deteriorated…actually the same attributes all multi time Champions MUST possess) and that has earned him 8 World Championships.
How can racing be better off without him? If you are not defeating the best, you are just defeating the guys who are second rate.
“Obviously Vinales was weak, foolish and immature to let mm93 get to him during qualifying.”
Agreed. Unabashedly poor sportsmanship by Marc, but entirely within the rules, so Maverick can’t come unglued the way he did. He has to be stronger-minded.
“But what strategic reason could mm93 possibly have to pick on Maverick at that time and place?”
Marc knew he needed a tow, and Maverick was the obvious choice. Based on the practice results, Maverick had the speed. Were it not for bad luck, #12 wouldn’t have even been in that Q1 session. Nearly everyone expected Maverick to go out and blitz the Q1 field, and he wasn’t going to wait around before doing so.
From Marc’s perspective, it had nothing to do with retribution for the crash last year. Rather, it had everything to do with his usual Machiavellian “win at all costs, I’m not here to make friends” ethos.
And it worked like a charm, with the added benefit of Maverick coming apart like a cheap suit.
I also can’t stand MM, but it seems that he has run out of luck after so many years that he fell a lot of times with no injuries, and running over his rivals unscrupulously with the fall of his victims only. And the cherry of the cake was the pathetic following of Viñales almost to the toilet.
He is already one of the greatest of all time, I’m not discovering anything, but now I believe is getting finally what he deserves.
Completely agree with your fine assessment of MM. Racing was better without him.
the racing HAS been better without him. and he’s been at the last four races! binder brushed him off as though binder was in an F250. honda loves these types (spencer/doohan). the only one that can win on the bike, yet honda claims that honda makes the best bike- just look at all the (his) wins!!!
Shades of Stoner and Ducati…
Its easy to see you hate MM93, and its also obvious you have a view of him few others share. Something stinks here, it might be the cheese.
Man, I wish Bagnaia had stayed upright. I’m not sure he could have beaten Fabio, but he could have put up a good fight for much of the race. Fabio is looking really strong. I wish Marquez was 100%. I think he would have his hands full with those two, and that would lead to some great battles.
RIP Jason Dupasquier. Only 19. Such a shame.
Weird wreck on the warm up lap lol
Quatararo is certainly showing his measure, even if his post race antics are a little goofy
Vinales is doing exactly what we expected him to do..start stong and fade away
Great race for KTM both for Olivera and Binder
Great race for Suzuki until Rins binned it again. Great race for Mir
Another horrible outing for Honda, particularly for Marquez, but for the rest of Team Honda as well
another horrible outing for Rossi. Been worse if 5 guys hadn’t crashed out ahead of him.