Marco Bezzecchi
Alex Marquez has warned Fabio Di Giannantonio to be “careful”, as there are “always” consequences for aggressive moves like his on Marc Marquez in the Dutch Grand Prix.
VR46 racer Di Giannantonio echoed his team owner and mentor Valentino Rossi at Assen on Sunday as he barged past Ducati rider Marc Marquez into the final chicane while fighting for P4. It was the latest clash to surface from the Italian and the Spaniard’s long-standing rivalry.
Di Giannantonio and Marc Marquez do not get on, and there was certainly no love on show on Lap 20 of 26 during the Dutch GP when the former carried too much speed into the right-hander. He made the Spaniard pick up his bike and run through the gravel to avoid crashing.
The stewards slapped Di Giannantonio with a long lap penalty after forcing Marquez off the circuit, along with not making the corner himself. But the long lap put the VR46 star back in the pack directly behind the Ducati man, and it did not take him long to try the move again.
Is rider safety in MotoGP getting better or worse?
Alex Marquez does not feel Fabio Di Giannantonio’s final chicane overtake on Marc Marquez was ‘appropriate’
Second time worked a charm for Di Giannantonio, as braking for Turn 16 slightly earlier than before ensured he made the apex and Marc Marquez had to back off through the flip-flop to avoid a collision on L25. Di Giannantonio also overtook Alex Marquez for P4 on the last lap.
READ MORE: Ranking Valentino Rossi’s top five MotoGP rivalries, including Marc Marquez
Gresini racer Alex Marquez had a great view of Di Giannantonio’s first attempt at overtaking his elder brother, Marc, as he was behind them on the track. Alex did not feel the move was “appropriate”, and he has even warned Di Giannantonio that consequences “always” follow.
Alex Marquez said, via quotes by Motosprint: “I don’t think a move like that was appropriate at that stage of the race. There were still five laps to go, while that sort of move is one you’d make, at a push, at the final corner of the last lap.
“In racing, you have to be careful because when you throw a boomerang like that, it always comes back.”
Di Giannantonio’s overtake echoed Rossi’s move on Marc Marquez at Assen in 2015, albeit when the roles were reversed. Back then, Marquez was the one trying a late move into the final chicane, but Rossi refused to yield and he bounced through the gravel to win the race.
As Alex Marquez notes, though, the type of overtake that Di Giannantonio attempted was a move befitting a final lap lunge like his brother Marc tried on Rossi 11 years ago. Had Rossi also not seen Marc coming and used the gravel trap, the Spaniard’s dive may have worked.
Another similarity between the two final chicane incidents 11 years apart at Assen was that Marc Marquez came off worse both times. Having to lose track time for shortcutting the last chicane on Sunday meant Marc fell behind Alex, and he could get back ahead of his brother.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
