Fabio Di Giannantonio had a frustrating and chaotic Qatar MotoGP, which he described as “eventful” after being hit by Alex Marquez, penalized for a separate incident, and involved in a near-miss with Jorge Martin’s crash.
Starting strong and showing podium-worthy pace, the VR46 Ducati rider was quickly in the mix with the front runners. However, his race took a turn when Alex Marquez made a bold and aggressive move to retake third, colliding with Di Giannantonio and forcing him off the track and down to 21st. Marquez was handed a long lap penalty for the maneuver.
“It was an eventful race. I had a really good start and I was fighting at the front because I had the pace to fight for the podium today,” Diggia said.
“Then came a strange and dangerous move by Alex. It’s disappointing — mistakes like that shouldn’t happen at this level. It was on the limit. And when riders who cause these kinds of incidents finish in the top 6, while others like me have our race ruined, it’s something we need to fix for the future.”
As he tried to recover, Di Giannantonio was handed a penalty for a separate clash with Joan Mir, where he was instructed to give up a position.
His biggest scare came on lap 14 when Jorge Martin, who was struggling with pace late in the race on his return from injury, crashed just ahead of him at Turn 12. Diggia couldn’t avoid clipping Martin as he slid across the track and finished the race concerned for the reigning champion’s wellbeing.
“We had the potential to be on the podium — just look at my pace. But most of all, I’m relieved that Jorge Martin seems okay. That’s what really matters. This is a dangerous sport and seeing a fellow rider go down like that reminds us all of the risks we take.”
Despite his strong form, Di Giannantonio crossed the line in 16th, outside of the points. Meanwhile, his VR46 teammate Franco Morbidelli was promoted to third after a post-race penalty was given to Maverick Vinales.
