Lusail brings back good memories for Fabio Di Giannantonio, who a few months ago found his first success in MotoGP at the most critical moment of his career. With a future still uncertain, in Qatar the Roman was a candidate as one of the leading riders of the crazy market and, less than a year later, he returned to the right-handed track with new blood and… With new colours.
Diggia he took part in the Qatar Grand Prix, the inaugural event of the 2024 MotoGP season, as the standard bearer for Pertamina VR46, the new team he is part of. The Roman driver did not replicate last year's success, however he did well by showing excellent adaptation to the GP23 he has at his disposal. Already in the tests he had shown that he felt at ease with the world champion Desmosedici, but he confirmed this in the race.
The potential remained unexpressed in the Sprint, where a fall put an end to his ride almost immediately, but in Sunday's race he achieved a seventh position which can be considered a good start: “The bike was ok after the fall, for this reason I have to thank the team for the great work they did, rebuilding the bike practically from scratch. I'm happy because the weekend wasn't easy. We had the speed, but it was a bit of a roller coaster.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team
Photo by: Media VR46
“The brakes weren't stable in every braking, so I had to be a bit careful, so I destroyed the front tire quite early,” explained the VR46 rider, referring to the only race in which he saw the checkered flag. “It was tough, but if in a difficult race we are seventh, then we must be happy because it means that we are strong and have a lot of potential. Furthermore, it was my first race with this team, so starting with a seventh place can make us smile.”
Despite the problems he had in the 22 laps in Lusail, Di Giannantonio closed the Qatar Grand Prix with a seventh position which makes him satisfied and the balance of his first weekend is more than positive: “When I returned to the garage I smiled and I gave everyone a round of applause because it was our first weekend together and I think the approach was incredible. We have crazy energy, everyone in the garage wants to win and despite the small problems we did a great job. The riders in front weren't that far away, so I think it's a good starting point. Last year I would have signed to start the season with a seventh place! It would certainly be nice to win every Sunday, but the others also work hard and study to do so by looking at the latest winner. They did it better than us and I think we have to learn to try to beat them in Portimao.”
The VR46 team's weekend was two-sided, with Di Giannantonio happy and Marco Bezzecchi in great difficulty. However, the Roman is unable to give an explanation to the problems accused by his teammate in Qatar: “We spoke sometimes and he explained to me the problem he had, but it's strange because I never accused him. It's also hard for me to understand why he struggles so much, I feel sorry for him but I don't even know how to help him. But I'm sure that with this team everything will be sorted out very soon.”
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