VR46, Di Giannantonio warns Ducati: "They’re ahead"

Fabio Di Giannantonio is fifth in the overall standings, 41 points behind leader Jorge Martin. The Roman rider from the VR46 team will keep believing as long as the math is on his side. The dream is to end his Ducati adventure with a strong final result, or maybe even the MotoGP title, before moving to the KTM factory team in 2027. But against the Aprilias it won’t be easy for anyone...

At Silverstone, “Diggia” finished Sunday’s race in sixth place, ahead of brand-mate Marc Marquez. Aprilia dominated the weekend, and Valentino Rossi’s team rider didn’t hide a certain frustration at never being able to fight the Noale bikes. According to Fabio, the technical gap between Aprilia and Ducati is quite clear, as shown by the RS-GP riders’ consistency on the podium. Just look at the standings, with four in the top 6: Martin and Bezzecchi in the first two positions, followed by Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura in third and Raul Fernandez sixth.

Since the start of the MotoGP season, the Veneto manufacturer has been competitive with all its riders. Meanwhile, Ducati has to rely solely on the superstar Marc Marquez to try to defend the world title. In this fierce battle, Fabio Di Giannantonio is trying to carve out his space, in his fifth and final year riding a Desmosedici GP. “Since the beginning of the year we’ve never managed to create such a big gap like the one Aprilia made at Silverstone,” the VR46 rider emphasized.

Compared to his Ducati teammates, “Diggia” managed the rear tire better throughout the race. In the final stages the front tire started to drop off... “That’s exactly what’s been happening since the start of the season. I’ve been saying it for a while: we need to improve our package.” Meanwhile, in the Ducati garage, development of the GP26 seems to be in a holding pattern, given that attention is already turning to the new regulations, with 850cc MotoGP prototypes. The fact remains that Aprilia, according to Fabio, is establishing itself as the leading force in the Championship. “At the moment we’re a step behind.”

More favorable circuits for the Red will come, and that’s where the difference needs to be made. Yet Di Giannantonio is quite skeptical: “Maybe we can get closer, but from what I see from the outside, their ceiling is higher... The gap we have now doesn’t allow us to get into the fight, so we have to look ahead.”

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