Andrea Dovizioso led Ducati to its first home MotoGP victory in eight years on Sunday with a controlled display in the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.
On a day that saw Italian riders take victories in all three world championship classes, Dovizioso charged from third on the grid to score Ducati’s first win of the season, breaking Yamaha and Honda’s dominance.
Dovizioso made a slow start, dropping back to fifth by the end of the second lap as old rivals Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo battled for position at the front.
World championship leader Maverick Viñales managed to pick off Lorenzo and Yamaha teammate Rossi to take the lead by the end of Lap 4, with Dovizioso following him through.
Dovizioso managed to hit the front 10 laps later, slipping past Viñales and leaving the Spaniard in the clutches of Danilo Petrucci, who had charged all the way from ninth on the grid to find himself embroiled in the battle for second.
While Dovizioso was able to finish a second clear of the field to claim his third MotoGP win, Viñales held on to P2 to extend his championship lead, leaving Petrucci third.
Despite riding with injuries sustained in a motocross accident last week, Rossi took fourth place for Yamaha ahead of Alvaro Bautista, who was fifth and the third-fastest Ducati.
Honda’s Marc Marquez was sixth ahead of Tech3’s Johann Zarco and Lorenzo, who faded after his early charge, eventually finishing eighth. Michele Pirro and Andrea Iannone rounded out the top 10 positions at Mugello.