Alonso praises MotoGP 'heroes' on Mugello visit

McLaren-Honda star Fernando Alonso has described MotoGP riders as “heroes”, as he visited Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix.

An avowed MotoGP fan, the two-time F1 world champion was an official guest of Honda and took the opportunity to soak up the incredible atmosphere as over 100,000 local fans packed the circuit to the rafters to support home favourite Valentino Rossi who was starting from pole position.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend, great atmosphere,” Alonso told MotoGP.com on the grid before the race. “A Valentino pole position has been a good boost for the grandstand.”

Having already driven around Mugello, Alonso admits to being genuinely stunned with the way MotoGP pilots tackles the track.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s quite impressive,” the Spaniard added “I went into the braking for Turn 1, the bike is moving there at 350kph. It’s quite impressive.

“They’re heroes for us. It’s very impressive to watch it live. Quite different from television.”

The action-packed contest eventually saw Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo pip Honda rival Marc Márquez to win by 0.019s in a thrilling finish, while Rossi retired with a mechanical issue much to the dismay of the home crowd.

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