Pecco Bagnaia, admission: “I was a little afraid.”

A seemingly easy victory, but one that was not.

Pecco Bagnaia took the Mugello Sprint Race, managing to prevail over Marco Bezzecchi only in the final meters. And hot on his heels, as soon as the race was over, the confirmed leader of the MotoGP championship standings pointed out the difficulties of a potentially treacherous Saturday.

“I was a little bit scared at the end, because it was raining,” Bagnaia explained. “It was raining a lot, especially in the second and third sector. Racing there was pretty scary. But I knew we were strong on the pace and could battle. Bezzecchi was very competitive and I just tried not to leave him any chance to overtake me.”

From Bagnaia then came the tribute to the audience in the stands. “I had fun today, even on the lap after the checkered flag. I saw so many people, and that’s great,” he said in English. Then the close in Italian and worldwide: “But how beautiful is Mugello?”