Francesco Bagnaia Leads Final Practice Ahead of Italian Grand Prix, Showcasing Dominance

Francesco Bagnaia dominated the final practice session before qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix this weekend, finishing 0.339s ahead of everyone else. The two-time consecutive champion set a quick lap time of 1.45.608s, with Marc Marquez from Gresini being the only other rider to clock a time in the 1.45s range. Franco Morbidelli maintained his impressive performance and secured third place, while Enea Bastianini, a factory Ducati rider, recovered from a challenging outing yesterday to finish fourth. Pedro Acosta once again led the KTM riders, with Maverick Vinales just 0.001s behind the rookie on his Aprilia bike. Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha showed progress by finishing in seventh place, demonstrating their ability to compete with the leading bikes. Brad Binder, on his factory KTM bike, secured eighth place after producing his best lap in the final part of the session. Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez finished ninth, narrowly beating the VR46 Ducati duo of Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Aleix Espargaro struggled and finished a disappointing 12th, followed by Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez. KTM full-time rider Jack Miller finished 14th, while test rider Pol Espargaro finished 16th, with the surprising result of current championship leader Jorge Martin in 15th. Alex Rins and Miguel Oliveria secured their spots in Q2 yesterday but struggled to maintain a consistent race pace during this morning’s session, finishing 17th and 18th. Augusto Fernandez finished 19th, and Takaaki Nakagami once again stood out as the top Honda rider at the end of the session. Johann Zarco finished 21st, ahead of 2020 champion Joan Mir, Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori, and Luca Marini, further adding to Honda’s difficulties.