Di Giannantonio’s Bittersweet Triumph at Phillip Island: A Near-Miss with the Podium and Future Hurdles Ahead

Fabio di Giannantonio expressed mixed emotions, suggesting that they might have been able to compete with Pecco. He admitted feeling frustrated about leaving without a podium finish.

Fabio di Giannantonio equaled his top performance of the season by finishing fourth in the Australian MotoGP. This race was his second-to-last event before undergoing surgery on his shoulder.

The VR46 racer described the Phillip Island event as potentially his most outstanding performance of the year.

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He couldn't shake the thought that perhaps a better qualifying performance and more appropriate engine settings could have closed the 2.8-second gap to Francesco Bagnaia and secured a podium finish.

Lucky to escape harm after being hit by debris from teammate Marco Bezzecchi’s Saturday collision with Maverick Vinales, Diggia managed to advance from twelfth to ninth place in the first lap of the grand prix.

During the race, the Italian competitor was heavily involved in an intense contest alongside Enea Bastianini, Maverick Vinales, and Brad Binder.

After reverting to his initial engine setup, di Giannantonio overtook everyone and recorded his fastest lap of the race on the second-to-last lap.

However, Bagnaia could not secure a spot on the podium.

"I'm really pleased, yet there's a sense of bittersweetness," expressed di Giannantonio, who trailed 12.997 seconds behind Marc Marquez, the race victor and fellow GP23 competitor.

"I believe I had an outstanding performance, possibly our top race of the year to date. With a more favorable starting position, we might have been able to challenge Pecco for a spot on the podium, as our pace wasn't significantly different."

"Even yesterday, I sensed that I had the momentum and ability to perform well. I'm truly pleased. However, I also had a strong desire to win a trophy."

"I'm upset about not winning a trophy as I head home!"

Describing the situation with the engine maps, di Giannantonio stated:

"We intended to utilize all the available maps, but upon transitioning to the other maps, the bike's speed decreased. Changing maps proved to be unnecessary."

"After returning to the correct settings, the bike began functioning properly, allowing me to maintain the pace I was confident in achieving."

"In the final moments, my speed was incredibly high."

"For that reason, even without altering the maps, I might have been able to increase my speed significantly and perhaps make an attempt to catch up with Pecco toward the end."

"We should focus on the positives and feel satisfied. Despite the injury, we delivered our strongest performance of the year, indicating that we're back to competing at a high level, even though the shoulder hasn't fully healed."

This weekend at Buriram, rider number 49 will complete his last MotoGP laps of the season. As a result, he will not participate in the races in Malaysia and Valencia, nor in the post-race test in Valencia.

Di Giannantonio expressed disappointment, acknowledging that while the bike at the Valencia test won't be a complete GP25 model, he regrets not being able to test the new machine.

"It's unfortunate to miss the upcoming races, especially after delivering such a strong performance, because you want to keep going."

"However, it's important to be smart and embrace what the future has in store."

Bezzecchi, who started as the second-fastest rider, initially fell to seventh after serving a long lap penalty. Following a fall, he rejoined the race but remained at the back of the pack for the rest of the event.

Currently, di Giannantonio holds the ninth position in the rankings, sitting two spots and 16 points in front of Bezzecchi.

Following an operation, the champion of the Qatar 2023 event is set to return to MotoGP at the Sepang pre-season test next year.

VR46 has not yet revealed who will replace di Giannantonio for the final two races. Among the speculated candidates are WorldSBK riders Andrea Iannone, Danilo Petrucci, and Nicola Bulega, along with Ducati test rider Michele Pirro.

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