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Moto3: Tatsuki Suzuki on Pole in Mugello

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Published on May 29, 2021
By Admin

Perfect qualifying conditions at the start of Q1. The big names included in Q1 were Pedro Acosta, Tatsuki Suzuki, Niccolo Antonelli, Carlos Tatay and the impressive rookies Izan Guevara and Xavi Artigas. So, this was not a group of riders Acosta could easily beat.

Pedro Acosta came out a little bit later than the big bunch that came out first and he was followed by Ryusei Yamanaka who was obviously OK after his massive off earlier this morning in FP3.

Acosta had a bit of a moment on his first flyer out of Arrabbiata 2 and went out onto the green paint so he needed to try again. He was all on his own and wobbled off the edge of the kerbs to ruin his lap.

Yuki Kunii’s replacement, Takuma Matsuyama had a very big high side out of the final corner. As he tried to get the on the throttle, he was hurled into the air and dumped on his back. Miraculously, he got up unhurt and his bike was carried away by the marshals.

With 5 minutes to go, Izan Guevara got it all wrong into Scarperia, clipping the rear wheel of a cruising Riccardo Rossi and was sent flying through the air into the gravel. Rossi got off unscathed but Guevara looked to be in pain and was stretchered away by the Medical Team, then taken to the Medical Centre. We will await updates on his condition. Rossi may be handed a penalty for causing another rider to crash.

Adrian Fernandez and Kaito Toba got up close and personal at the end of the front straight. They were absolutely flat out at 160mph, rubbing shoulders as they tried to get themselves positioned for Turn 1.

Suzuki was top after the first runs followed by Kaito Toba Niccolo Antonelli and wildcard Alberto Surra.
Pedro Acosta was clearly pushing hard and was up after the first three sectors, but he was hindered by Xavi Artigas and Adrian Fernandez who were again dawdling on the racing line. He had one more attempt and was sat in 7th. Suzuki went even faster to top Q1 with Kaito Toba in 2nd and Pedro Acosta squeaking through in 3rd. Niccolo Antonelli was the final rider to advance to Q2, displacing the wildcard, Alberto Surra.

Q2 started with nobody moving for two and a half minutes. Pedro Acosta was the first to exit the pits and nobody followed him. Darryn Binder and Niccolo Antonelli were the next to go out alone. With a full five minutes gone, the rest of the riders followed Andrea Migno who has been very fast this weekend.

Deniz Oncu set a very quick lap all on his own, 0.650 seconds faster than Pedro Acosta, but Niccolo Antonelli quickly displaced him. Gabriel Rodrigo looks fast this weekend and he went to the top of time sheet. He just needs to stay on board this weekend and can hopefully get a good result this weekend.

Only eight riders had set a time with five minutes to go, and they all followed each other down pitlane to get their last runs in – a final attempt to get pole position.

John McPhee motored on and wasn’t really worried about latching onto the group. He went 5th with a couple of minutes to go but eleven riders were still yet to set a time. Dennis Foggia went 2nd and Tatsuki Suzuki went top after he tucked in behind Pedro Acosta. He got a perfect slipstream down the front straight.

The chequered flag was out but there were still a few riders to set a time. Jason Dupasquier came out of Arrabbiata 2 and lost the rear. Ayumu Sasaki was following and looked to strike Dupasquier as he went down. Sasaki was fired into the air and got away unhurt but Dupasquier was laid stricken in the track. Jeremy Alcoba was also involved and it looks like he hit Dupaquier first. He went down in the next corner and was clearly concerned about the Swiss rider who was still in the track a couple of minutes later. He was later air-lifted to hospital.

A statement was released by FIM Medical Officer Giancarlo di Filippo, claiming Jason Dupasquier is in a “serious condition” but was transferred to the hospital in a “hemodynamically stable way” (stable heart/blood circulation).

Tatsuki Suzuki will start on pole with Pedro Acosta rescuing a 2nd and Gabri Rodrigo was 3rd. Dennis Foggia, Jaume Masia and Jeremy Alcoba completed the second row and John McPhee is in 9th.

A very sombre end to the session and our thoughts go out to Jason Dupasquier.

Featured image: MotoGP.com

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