If he manages to perform at the same level at which we saw him in the final part of last season, Fabio Di Giannantonio could be one of the loose cannons of the 2024 MotoGP. Thanks to a crackling finish, in which he also achieved his first success in the premier class in Qatar, the Roman rider earned the seat of one of the two Ducati Desmosedici GP23s of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team.
And this in itself is something historic, because he is the first rider who will race in MotoGP for Valentino Rossi's team without being part of the nine-time world champion's Academy. A relationship born when both parties had to make a virtue of necessity, because “Diggia” was looking for a motorbike after Marc Marquez “stole” his Ducati from Gresini Racing, and the Tavullia team instead needed of a valuable rider after losing Luca Marini, who replaced the Spaniard in the official Honda team.
But the feeling is also that this is a combination that has all the credentials to be one of the revelations of the season that is about to begin. In fact, Fabio seems to be approaching 2024 with great confidence and enthusiasm, at least according to what he said immediately after the presentation of the team, which took place today in Riccione.
Fausto Gresini said that you have great potential and that you just had to click: is that what happened last year?
“I have certainly come a long way, a great growth, but now it is important to focus on the present, on my new adventure with this new team, ultra bright and ultra fluorescent. I am very excited and very happy to be part of this team. And I am convinced that we can have a good year together.”
You've changed teams, but you'll always ride a Ducati, so you'll be able to be fast straight away…
“We're trying. The new bike is certainly an improvement in some areas, while there's a bit of work to be done on others. But I'm sure that with the team I have this year we can do an excellent job. It will be important to work well right from the start. tests to arrive as ready as possible in Qatar”.
Who do you think are the most dangerous opponents?
“In MotoGP you have to pay attention to everyone. I believe that all the Ducati riders will be very fast, but there are also some other manufacturers that are working hard: I'm thinking of Honda, but also of Yamaha. They have made important purchases in terms of technicians, so there will be many of us who will go strong this year.”
In Sepang what will you mainly look for?
“Definitely the feeling, because we haven't touched a MotoGP for months and that is always a story in itself. It will be important to start again and rediscover the automatisms that you create during the year. Doing many races in the end helps you to have a certain fluency in driving, so it's important to find those sensations again soon.”
We start again from Qatar, where you have wonderful memories…
“It's certainly a track that I really like and I have crazy memories of the last time we were there. It will be important to work well to try to arrive as ready as we were last year, because it would be a dream to start again from how we finished there But I know there is a lot of work to do, so we need to be happy with the tests in Malaysia first, then those in Qatar and then we'll see how the season starts.”
How were the first few months inside the VR46?
“They welcomed me in a crazy way. They confirmed to me that they are an ultra-professional team. The thing that struck me most is that you can feel that it is Valentino's team, because the rider truly feels at the center of the project. This is a very nice and new thing for me: the team is always available to try to go as fast as possible on the track, which is the final goal. It's a very nice and very proactive thing on their part.”
You've always said that in your training you don't want to ride too much to keep the sensations of MotoGP. Will you change your method now that you're with VR46, who instead trains a lot at the Ranch?
“Let's say that I have already made a bit of history, being the first rider of the team that is not part of the Academy. We are integrating the work that I usually do at home with what they do. However, I am not an Academy rider. Academy, so my basic preparation will remain the same, which seems to me to have worked last year. Obviously we will try to integrate everything that can be improved, and at the same time we will see if I can also give them a little hand” .
How does it make you feel to be the first VR46 driver who is not a member of the Academy?
“It's cool because it's already the first thing I've come first in this year. Maybe it's a good omen.”
Does the idea of racing with the same bike as Marc Marquez, with everything that happened last year, give you extra motivation?
“My biggest motivation is that I don't yet have the stripes of being a world champion. That's the motivation that makes me get up every morning to go work my ass off in the gym. In reality, therefore, the motivation is to try to be number one”.
Today you would say I will be happy at the end of the year if…
“If I have continued to grow as a rider, if I have continued to learn many things and if we have achieved better results than last year.”
Your path has been parallel to that of Bezzecchi since we were very little: what effect does having him as a teammate have on you this year?
“It's just a curious thing, because it has already happened to me in the past to look around the grid and see Marco, Pecco (Bagnaia), Enea (Bastianini). It's still us since we were little and now we're just on bigger bikes , more colourful, with more people around. In reality it's not a particular feeling, it just makes me so happy to see that we've done this whole journey together up until the MotoGP.”
What did Valentino tell you?
“We only exchanged a few words about the work to be done on the track, because we are still at the beginning. He was very nice, because he told me that I can ask him for anything I need, so he made himself available This is something I'm proud of and very grateful for, because I can only learn from the greatest of all time. So there will be opportunities to ask him many things.”
What is the biggest difference you noticed between the GP22 and the GP23 in the Valencia test?
“The bikes are similar, but they are different. The GP23 goes faster and there are some things that allow you to ride it differently. You can brake a little harder when straight, but we have already identified something to try to have the same strength at entry and in the center of the corner that we had with the GP22. If we succeed, it could be a big step. But I'm convinced that with the GP23, which has super potential, we can go faster.”
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