Competitive from the start, ten premier class riders took to their controllers to battle it out for podium positions.

In a six-lap race at Mugello, Fabio Quartararo, Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia, Alex Rins, Aleix Espargaro, Maverick Vinales, Joan Mir, Iker Lecuona and Miguel Oliveira helped to fill the void of MotoGP activity through the official MotoGP19 videogame.

While not the debut race he expected, this became the first MotoGP race for Repsol Honda Team’s Alex Marquez and he took the win with a total time of 10 minutes, 38.643 seconds! As the younger Marquez sibling and Bagnaia pulled away on lap two, it looked like the pair would be fighting for a close victory, but Bagnaia crashed out, leaving Marquez in the lead. With a seven-second advantage, Alex crossed the line ahead of second-placed Bagnaia who managed to rejoin the pack, and Vinales who came third.

Vinales took the bottom step of the podium, despite being wiped out by Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Quartararo on the first corner, with Quartararo finishing fourth – an impressive feat after multiple trips into the gravel. The 2019 Rookie of the Year achieved the fastest lap of the virtual race at 1 minute 44.454 seconds after surging from the back of the grid.

The Italian’s fourth place was somewhat gifted to him though as reigning champion Marc Marquez seemed to have cemented the position when a late crash meant that Quartararo could overtake. There were more incidents from Suzuki team-mates Joan Mir and Alex Rins who finished in sixth and seventh respectively, with Miguel Oliveira in eighth. Meanwhile, Iker Lecuona’s crash tally reached double figures but the chequered flag still saw him finish in front of Aleix Espargaro at the bottom of the table.

The entertaining race saw the riders in the comfort of their own homes, but still amusingly leaning into each turn. But it was Moto2 champion Alex Marquez who outshone the other nine riders to take the victory, and also become the only rider in history to win his debut premier class race – albeit a virtual one!

The next #StayatHomeGP is due to take place on Sunday 12th April and we hope you’re looking forward to it as much as we are.

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