Mattia Pasini will be making a wildcard appearance at the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello this weekend with the Aspar GasGas Moto2 team.
The announcement was made earlier today (23 May 2022) and confirms the Italian’s first Grand Prix appearance since he replaced Jorge Martin in the Red Bull KTM Ajo team at the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Pasini’s return to Mugello unquestionably raises memories of his victory at the Tuscan track back in 2017 after battling Alex Marquez and Tom Luthi throughout the intermediate class race, and even back to his 2008 triumph in the wet when he battled against Marco Simoncelli in the 250cc class.
Of course, it will not be Pasini’s first time with the Aspar team. In 2019, when Aspar was under the “Angel Nieto Team” guise, Pasini replaced an injured Jake Dixon at the Spanish Grand Prix, and in 2006 he completed the 125cc season with the team, when he won in Mugello and Sachsenring, and took four further podiums.
Pasini has become synonymous with the number 54 in recent years, but this year that number is taken by Fermin Aldeguer. The press release from Aspar announcing Pasini’s wildcard does not specify which number he will use, and his old number - 75 - is already used by Albert Arenas, who this weekend will be one of Pasini’s two teammates, along with Jake Dixon.
On the announcement of his Mugello wildcard, Pasini said, “I am very happy to compete again in a Moto2 race, to do so with Inde GasGas Aspar, with Jorge Martínez "Aspar" and with Gino Borsoi, whom I have known for so long, and on top of that, to do it at home. Mugello is a good place to do well.”
An Instagram post from Pasini also indicates that the Italian has been testing a Moto2 Kalex at Misano.
