Fabio Di Giannantonio confesses: "I don't have the courage

Fabio Di Giannantonio finished the MotoGP Grand Prix at Portimão in eighth place. He lost many positions on the first lap because he got stuck in traffic. But his feeling with the Desmosedici GP25 remains shaky, on par with Pecco Bagnaia. He is currently sixth in the overall standings, with a 12-point lead over his teammate Franco Morbidelli. The final round in Valencia will be a great showdown between the two.

The VR46 team rider endured another difficult race weekend in Portugal. Ninth in qualifying, fifth in the MotoGP Sprint, a tough start in Sunday’s GP, where he slipped to 14th after the first lap. A complicated race from the opening corners, forced to fight back and put extra stress on the tires.

Fabio Di Giannantonio gradually climbed back thanks to a consistent pace. He re-entered the top 10, benefited from Pecco Bagnaia’s retirement, overtook Johann Zarco on the final lap, and crossed the line eighth. It’s certainly not the result expected from a rider on a factory Ducati, but he made the most of a MotoGP round that started under a bad sign. "I’m not satisfied; we had the speed to finish in the top five."

The sore spot is once again qualifying—starting from the third row makes everything tougher. It must also be said that the Desmosedici GP25 seems to be winning only in Marc Marquez’s hands. For Pecco and Diggia it has caused no shortage of headaches, as the Roman rider himself admits. "This year we’ve changed the bike so many times. We’re working with Ducati and the team to get the most out of it. But if you focus on trying new things, sometimes you can’t get the fastest lap... It’s better to have the best feeling with the bike than to have the latest updates installed."

Was his confidence greater at the end of the 2023 season, when he earned his first and so far only MotoGP victory in Qatar? "Yes." But he also holds his hands up... "Honestly, I don’t have the courage to ride in a ‘kamikaze’ style on the first lap. Sure, I try to put myself in the best possible position to be further ahead, but I also want to survive. We’re going 300 km/h at the end of a straight before braking, and you have more than 200 kilograms in front of you: the bike and the rider. If you rear-end someone, it hurts a lot. I prefer to make clean moves."