Marco Bezzecchi
As the only satellite rider to receive a factory bike from Ducati in 2025, VR46 boss Pablo Nieto has revealed how Fabio Di Giannantonio has been struggling with the same issues that have plagued Francesco Bagnaia at the factory squad.
Marc Marquez has been the only rider who has been able to wrangle the potential out of Ducati’s factory GP25 during the current MotoGP season.
In a league of his own at the top of the championship standings, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Francesco Bagnaia have struggled in their adaptation from the previous spec GP24.
Team owner Valentino Rossi has tried to advise Diggia in the best way possible, but in a similar shade to what his compatriot Bagnaia has experienced at Ducati, nothing seems to work.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Di Giannantonio from net worth to AS Roma
Pablo Nieto highlights how Fabio Di Giannantonio is suffering the ‘same problems’ as Pecco Bagnaia atop the GP25
Speaking to Motorbike Magazine on their official YouTube channel, VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto has revealed how similar the issues are between the two Italian riders, and the steps they have put in place to try and fix their woes to replicate the feats of the high-flying Marquez.
Asked if Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio are currently on the same page, Nieto replied, “Yes. More or less, they’re very similar in that regard.
“What surprises me a lot is that every weekend we ask ourselves this question: how can the same bike from Friday to Saturday feel so different without touching anything? Track conditions – the track has more rubber and temperature changes.
“We put everything on the table, and we really evaluate what could happen. But the difference we see from one day to another is too big for the minimal changes that were made. And more or less, Pecco and Diggia are having the same problems.
“Regarding Pecco’s side, obviously, you really need to be inside that box to know what’s happening. And from our side, that consistency is what we’re struggling to maintain throughout the year. Because it’s what I miss the most.
“We are self-critical, I put everything on the table, and maybe as a team we are not being able to give the rider 100% of that bike during that weekend. Or you also have to consider if that weekend Di Giannantonio didn’t give 100% and didn’t have his weekend.
“I think you have to be self-critical, conscious of what’s really happening, and try to understand it to improve it.”
The VR46 rider is currently seventh in the championship standings, sitting 16 points behind his teammate Franco Morbidelli, who has put in more impressive results atop the older spec GP24.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Valentino Rossi’s VR46 from current riders to bike
VR46 is the only option for Francesco Bagnaia if he wants out of the factory Ducati team
As Bagnaia has been a factory rider for the official Borgo Panigale-based squad since his entrance to the grid in 2019, Ducati’s deals with their official riders state that they are free to move them around to different satellite teams, providing they still receive the factory bike.
Ducati are currently at the end of their tether with Bagnaia, and an exit from the team is looking more likely with every passing race weekend that he fails to prove he is at one with the factory spec bike.
The deals that Ducati has with their riders means that VR46 is the only viable option for Bagnaia if he does want to call it quits at the official team.
With the way things are going currently for the two-time premier class title winner, an exit may be just around the corner.
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