Di Giannantonio challenges Marc Marquez: "Yesterday it was him, today it's me"

After a seesaw start to the season in Thailand, Fabio Di Giannantonio claimed the podium in the second MotoGP weekend in Brazil. Pole position, second in the Sprint behind Marc Marquez, third in the long race. But the VR46 team rider could do nothing against the Aprilias of Bezzecchi and Martin.

Right after the start, the 27-year-old from Rome had to give way to Noale’s ace, Marco Bezzecchi. After a few laps he also had to let Jorge Martin’s Aprilia through. “Diggia” came into Sunday’s showdown worn out after a crash during warm-up. "I gave it my all, but this morning I took another hit to my left shoulder, like last year. I didn’t want to think about it, but shortly after the start, especially under left-hand braking, I had major issues."

On the second lap, Marc Marquez passed his brand-mate in a left-hander, opening up a duel that lasted almost the entire race. "Yesterday he was ahead, today I made the podium. It wasn’t a win, but the duel was fantastic." Looking ahead to next weekend’s MotoGP round in Texas, Fabio Di Giannantonio is five points behind Pedro Acosta and three points ahead of Marc Marquez in the standings.

The close fight with the reigning MotoGP champion put on a show, but also provided new motivation for the VR46 standard-bearer. "Yesterday he won, and he also won the race; today I was on the podium, but it’s not the same thing. Anyway, I’m happy, because competing against a rider with so much experience is harder, but it also lets you learn... It was fun, because he made the same mistake I made yesterday."

Di Giannantonio was able to study Marc’s riding style up close—useful insights for taming the Ducati GP26 ahead of the next rounds. "He’s very precise, he knows when and where to use his power, he goes full gas but you can see he manages his energy very well. He has great control of the bike even in the riskiest maneuvers and, in left-hand corners, he definitely has something extra. I’m studying how to do it, but it’s not easy."

He wanted more, but finished third. Now Fabio wants to try to stay at the top, starting from the next round in Austin. "I would have liked to win, but in these conditions Aprilia has a slight advantage. When the asphalt is more slippery, we lose front-end stability, which is our strength, and we can’t maintain corner speed, which they manage to do... Marc is the world champion, Bez has won the last four races, and I want to be with them—I want to have a great season."