Walking around Mugello, home of the Italian MotoGP. The roar of engines and the contrast of the hills

The Italian Grand Prix at Mugello has been held since 1914

The ninth round of the MotoGP season, the Italian Grand Prix, will be held at the Mugello Circuit in Tuscany, central Italy. In my case, due to travel arrangements, I flew from London to Bologna and then took the Italo high-speed train to Florence. The fare was about 18 euros (about 3,060 yen), and the train journey took about 40 minutes.

When you think of Italian food culture, you might think of pizza and pasta, but Florence is famous for its T-bone steak, “Bistecca alla Fiorentina.” This year, I tried it for the first time. A large block of meat arrives on a cart and is skillfully cut up on the spot. Seasoning is almost exclusively salt and pepper. The plate is heated to a sizzle, so the moment the meat is placed on it, a sizzling sound can be heard. The lean meat has a firm texture. It’s a very filling meal, so when ordering, be careful not to eat too much before the meat…

The Mugello Circuit is about an hour’s drive from Florence. Surrounded by mountains, the course is laid out to weave through the hills, with distant views of the mountains from the paddock and the circuit. Due to its location, the circuit has a large elevation difference of 41.19m. The circuit itself has a long history, with the first race held there in 1914. Like many circuits at the time, it began as a public road race. The first Road Racing World Championship was held there in 1976. In 1988, it was purchased by Ferrari and renovated.

At the Mugello Circuit, fans rev their engines all day long. I thought they were just people on bikes, but I heard that some people had brought chainsaw engines and were making a lot of noise. This “noise” has become a Mugello specialty.

Furthermore, Italian fans are passionate. The 2022 and 2023 champion, Italian Ducati factory rider Francesco Bagnaia, is incredibly popular, with his nickname “Peco!” being uttered whenever he appears after Friday’s practice.

It seems natural to cheer enthusiastically for your own country’s riders, but the “color” of that cheering varies slightly from country to country. At the French Grand Prix, French riders Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco received huge cheers, and they had been calling out their names and applauding since Friday, but interestingly, the colors were somehow different. The Italian fans at Mugello are simply passionate. It seems they are trying hard to convey their great love, and their loud cheers are also heartwarming.

To be honest, I think the Mugello Circuit is one of the circuits that is not particularly accessible for reporting. There are few hotels around the circuit, and hotel rates are high during race week. This year, I stayed in a town called Prato, but I had to drive 45km one way, or 90km round trip, to the circuit every day.

But the scenery surrounded by mountains is beautiful. In contrast to the roar of engines echoing beyond the mountains, the enthusiastic cheers for Bagnaia, and the yellow and red smoke that rose after Sunday’s race (Valentino Rossi’s popularity is still going strong), the scenery seen in the distance is tranquil. Perhaps this contrast is also part of Mugello’s charm.