Valentino Rossi predicts five-way fight for Mugello MotoGP win
Italian Grand Prix polesitter Valentino Rossi believes any one of five riders can win Sunday's MotoGP race at Mugello
Rossi claimed his second pole of 2016 on Saturday and will start his home race from the front of the grid for the first time in eight years.
The Yamaha rider's advantage over Suzuki's Maverick Vinales was just 0.094 seconds, with Ducati's Andrea Iannone only 0.103s behind in qualifying to complete the front row.
However, with Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo also within four tenths in fourth and fifth, Rossi believes any one of the quintet could win Sunday's 23-lap race.
"At this moment, looking clearly at the pace of today, it looks like Vinales has the best pace, a little bit faster," Rossi said.
"I am good, not so bad, and also Iannone is with me.
"But we have to remember in fourth and fifth we have have Marquez and Lorenzo that for sure will go faster.
"So I think the top five can win tomorrow.
"I feel good with the bike, but we have to try to improve some small details.
"The race at Mugello is always very demanding physically and also mentally, but starting from pole position is also important."
Iannone echoed Rossi's sentiment about the top five riders on the grid having a legitimate chance to win what he feels will be an "incredible battle".
Having claimed his maiden MotoGP pole position at Mugello in 2015, Iannone narrowly missed out on a second, but topped each of the weekend's three dry practice sessions and feels well placed.
"I'm very, very happy because we improved the bike practice by practice and with the team the work is very, very good and this I think is the most important for the race," Iannone said.
"For sure I expect a lot from the race tomorrow because this weekend we have shown a very good potential.
"We have had a very good pace and I have a very good feeling with the bike.
"I think the first five riders are very close and it's a very difficult race tomorrow."
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About this article
| Series | MotoGP |
| Drivers | Valentino Rossi |
| Teams | AB Motoracing |
| Author | Mitchell Adam |
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