Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1125433
MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 6 / MAY 31-JUNE 2, 2019 AUTODROMO DEL MUGELLO / TUSCANY, ITALY P82 crowd favorite Valentino Rossi (Monster Yamaha), starting off with a lowly 18th-position start. He was mired with the backmark- ers and then dropped to last after a gravel run-off after a collision with Joan Mir's Suzuki. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) crashed out tenth on lap six; Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM) retired to the pits. Marquez had the consolation of extending his points lead, 116 to Dovi on 103; then Rins 88, Petrucci 82 and Rossi 72. Moto2 Alex Marquez made it two in a row for the first time since 2014 crashed out on the 12th lap. Crutchlow would continue to lose ground, dropping to eighth in the closing laps, blaming an unusually significant drop-off in the rear tire. Teammate Naka- gami, by contrast, had a career- best fifth, running strongly at the end to staying a second clear of Maverick Vinales. The Monster Yamaha rider had again started poorly, losing five places on the first lap to finish it 12th. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro took seventh. Pol Espargaro was a lone ninth, and Quartararo dropped to 10th, blaming a lack of front feeling, but at least top rookie. It was a nightmare race for he saw Petrucci up the pace with 10 laps to go, he thought it was time to pass Rins and run with the leaders. He set the fastest lap, just short of a new record, but next time around lost the front and slipped out. Cal Crutchlow had hung on to this group until this stage and had earlier successfully fended off the on-form Pecco Bagnaia (Pramac Ducati), who had come storming through from 11th on lap one. The Italian had passed Fabio Quar- tararo (Petronas Yamaha), slow away from his front-row start, and then also Takaaki Nakagami on the year-old LCR Honda, and was hounding Crutchlow when he Jack Miller (43) was indeed a part of the early-lap thriller at Mugello, until he threw it down the road at the three-quarter- lap point.