Fabio di Giannantonio’s chances of backing up his Sprint podium disappeared before Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix had even begun, as a power issue on his VR46 Ducati GP25 forced him to start from pit lane.
Lined up for third on the grid, the Italian experienced a loss of power during the sighting lap. Although Ducati engineers briefly thought they had solved the issue, the fault returned on the warm-up lap. Di Giannantonio was forced to switch to his second bike with an alternate tyre choice — soft front and medium rear — and start from the end of pit lane.
“It’s a shame, because even with the tyres — which were for sure the wrong ones — we were still fast and consistent,” said di Giannantonio, who was the only rider running a soft front.
Despite losing 16 seconds on the opening lap, he recovered to finish 15th, setting the ninth-fastest lap of the race and collecting a single point. His final deficit to winner Marc Marquez was 26.262s, but without the early setback, his pace suggested he could have finished as high as fourth.
“It’s a missed opportunity, but we keep our heads high,” he reflected. “We had a great qualifying, an amazing Sprint, and we’re starting to really understand the GP25. I’m proud of my team — we take the positives.”
The result drops di Giannantonio from fifth to seventh in the MotoGP World Championship standings, behind KTM’s Pedro Acosta and VR46 team-mate Franco Morbidelli.
