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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1501265
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P95 was hovering between 0.4s and 0.6 seconds, with Martin riding out of his skin to just keep up. Yet soon the World Champion's medium rear tire was always likely to translate to superior late speed over Martin's soft. After the Pramac man had closed to within 0.3 seconds on lap 13, Bagnaia really went to work on the following circuit, stretching his lead out to just under a second. He controlled the lead from there, for a third win in six. "Pole position, win - ning the sprint, winning the grand prix—for me it's the best weekend in Italy," he said. The 77,921 in attendance roared their appreciation. Martin was a fine second around one of his weaker tracks, with Zarco eventually closing to within 9/10ths of his teammate at the flag. Marini capped a dream day for Ducati in fourth. "In the last four or five laps, I didn't have enough strength to keep the grip tight," he said of his heroic efforts. Binder was the best of the rest in fifth, in what he de - scribed as KTM's toughest race of the year so far. A lack of rear grip held him back here. Espar- garo fought through to sixth, a solid effort after he damaged his right heel in a careless bicy- cle crash on Thursday. He just held off Miller late on. Bezzec- chi was devastated with eighth, hinting a dodgy front tire was the cause of his woes, while Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Ducati) was ninth in his comeback from injury. Franco Morbidelli was the fastest of the Monster En - miserable day for the Marquez family and opened the door to Marini and Zarco for the final podium spot. The odds were heavily stacked against the Italian, how - ever. The effort of riding up front with the right thumb he injured at Le Mans would soon tell, leaving the Frenchman clear to chase after the lead duo. Up front and Bagnaia's lead THE HONDA CURSE Honda's miserable record of losing riders to injuries continued apace at Mugello. Factory rider Joan Mir withdrew on Friday after a spill at turn one in P2 damaged the fifth finger on his right hand. Of greater concern was what happened to Alex Rins. Crashing out of the Sprint race at the high-speed Ar- rabbiata 1, the Spaniard fractured the tibia and fibula in his right leg as he awkwardly bounced through the gravel. "The rider will undergo a first surgery this evening at the Careggi University Hospital (Flor- ence), where doctors will attach an external fixator to stabilize his right leg and reduce swelling," said an LCR spokesman. "He will remain under observation, and once cleared, he will return to Spain to undergo a final surgery." WHY SO MANY INJURIES? Alex Rins was the 10th rider to have been injured at a MotoGP event this year, in just under six rounds. Why so many injuries? Most riders stated it's due to every single session now counting to- ward a place in qualifying, increas- ing risk. "Maybe FP1 could be free so we can at least think about the race, because now it's crazy," said Jorge Martin. "Every time we need to attack, attack, attack." "A STUPID THING" Aleix Espargaro was walking wounded on Friday thanks to "a stupid thing," he admitted. The Catalan was guilty of checking his phone when riding his bicycle around Mugello on Thursday when he suffered a "big, big crash." He was in visible pain throughout Briefly...