Di Giannantonio: "I'm neither Valentino Rossi nor Marquez

For Fabio Di Giannantonio, it wasn’t a good Saturday at Balaton Park. The VR46 rider finished in tenth place, but he remains for now the top Ducati rider in the overall MotoGP standings. In today’s Hungarian GP race, he will try to claw his way back onto the podium to avoid losing ground to the Aprilia duo up front.

“Diggia” is in excellent form, and it’s hard to believe that he’ll be leaving the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team’s colors at the end of the season. In fact, the Roman rider already has an agreement with the KTM factory team for 2027–2028, although nothing is official yet due to the financial (and not only financial) dispute between the manufacturers’ association and Liberty Media. As of today, Di Giannantonio is the ultimate anti-Aprilia, at least in terms of points in the standings.

From the very first race of this MotoGP season he has seemed clearly improved compared to 2025. What changed over the winter? “I believe I have the best opportunity I’ve ever had, with a team that believed in me,” Di Giannantonio told AS. “The team gave me two years of continuity with the same people, and that makes a huge difference.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio can rely on last year’s data and a factory Desmosedici. “In today’s MotoGP, that makes an incredible difference. It’s what matters most, because in the end, I can be fast, but if we don’t have the data and we don’t start the weekend well, or if the crew chief doesn’t know how I mesh with the bike, then I won’t be fast. I think it’s this combination, along with the fact that I’m also growing and learning a lot.”

Fabio’s physical build requires small tweaks that can prove decisive over time. “I’m a bit heavier than the other Ducati riders. With the leather suit, I weigh about 80 or 81 kilos. When I’m in shape, I get down to 79, and I weigh 5 or 6 kilos more than the other Ducati riders. So my tank is a bit longer because I’m also tall and I don’t like the standard tank, so I’m positioned farther back than the others. And because of the physics, the bike wheelies more easily,” adds the VR46 rider. “Also, I’ve never felt completely comfortable with this clutch, and that’s just my own issue.”

This season he has already taken a win in Barcelona and two Sunday race podiums. ‘Diggia’s’ strength is tire management in the final stages, thanks to a very fluid riding style. Winning the MotoGP title may still be a tough feat, but not an impossible one for Fabio. A dream he has nurtured since childhood, when he had a Valentino Rossi poster in his room. Today, the Doctor is the owner of the team he races for... “Ultimately, I think I have good talent. I’m certainly not Valentino or Marc Marquez, but I have good talent. So, why not? I have the opportunity and I’m going for it.”

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