Marco Bezzecchi
Fabio Di Giannantonio could have secured a second MotoGP podium in three races if he had managed to hold on to his VR46 bike at the German Grand Prix.
Instead, the Italian rider crashed halfway through the race while in second place, which would have been his best finish since the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
On a positive note, Di Giannantonio did manage to lift himself up to 4th in the MotoGP riders’ championship.
That was after his VR46 teammate Franco Morbidelli failed to compete at the German Grand Prix, following a nasty crash of his own.
Entertainingly, Marc Marquez ‘played’ Di Giannantonio by not allowing him to copy his lines on Friday. He doesn’t want to give anything away to his rivals.
So far this season, Di Giannantonio has taken advice from Valentino Rossi and it helped him to his best result of the campaign in Mugello. He needs to sustain that form more often.
Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed after focusing on the ‘gap’ to Marc Marquez at the German Grand Prix
Di Giannantonio was ‘impossible’ to fight for Johann Zarco at the Dutch Grand Prix, as the Ducati flexed its muscles over Honda’s developing machine.
After starting the season by hurting himself doing a wheelie in pre-season testing, Di Giannantonio has managed to start stringing some results together.
Arriving at the Sachsenring, he was on a run of six consecutive top 10 finishes, and just one non-point finish all season.
After that run ended, he told GPOne how he allowed himself to get a bit distracted by the riders around him before crashing.
“I wanted to keep the gap from Marc Marquez under control and keep the lead on Bezzecchi when I braked five minutes later, did two more degrees in the angle and, unfortunately, my front locked up,” he said.
“Does it bug me? That’s part of the game. In the end, it was a very good weekend. On Friday, I set the circuit record and, yesterday, despite starting far back when it was wet, I did well.”
What lies in Fabio Di Giannantonio’s MotoGP future for the time being?
For now, Di Giannantonio’s MotoGP future is safe, and he is under contract with VR46 until the end of the 2026 season.
That would take him to five consecutive seasons on a satellite Ducati bike ahead of a significant rule change.
From there, he may opt for a new challenge, or he may decide that his current home at VR46 is a good one.
Current teammate Franco Morbidelli’s contract expires at the end of this year, so he may have a new colleague in the future, but for now, they have delivered solid results together.
It’s part of the reason why they are separated by just three points in the championship after 11 races.
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