Di Giannantonio confident at Mugello
At the start of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship, very few fans and insiders could have expected that after six race weekends there would be only one Ducati rider in the top 5 of the standings. Almost no one would have said that this rider would be Fabio Di Giannantonio, and not Marc Marquez. The championship, however, says this: the Roman is currently the benchmark for Ducati. And, with the victory in Barcelona and a gap of only 26 points from Marco Bezzecchi, he can legitimately aspire to the title.
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At Mugello, the Roman also has sweet memories, having secured his first MotoGP pole here (2022) despite starting from Q1. After the 2025 podium, “Diggia” will seek another solid placement to reaffirm his world championship ambitions.
Di Giannantonio’s words
“Mugello is really special and magical. It is pure motorcycling and it is truly an amazing weekend for us Italians, but also for the manufacturers we represent. It is a technical track, especially in the section between Casanova Savelli and Arrabbiata 1-2. The way you enter it affects everything else. You have to be extremely precise, there are different slopes and inclinations, it is very difficult,” these were his words at the press conference, where he appeared with a bandage on his left pinky, slightly injured in the fall caused by the accident between Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta at Montmeló: “I’m fine, I was able to rest, I did a couple of checks to make sure the finger was okay and it is, so I’m very happy. We had some rest moments, me and the team, but in the end Sunday was just a big scare, everything ended very well with the victory. There were really many emotions, so it was better to rest a bit before this weekend.”
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Analyzing his great form, Di Giannantonio credited the VR46 team: “I think what makes the difference is the teamwork. It’s the first time I have the same staff for two consecutive seasons, so we are building based on the data collected in 2025, therefore we manage to reach problem solutions much earlier than in previous years. It’s fantastic, and even when you start a weekend where not everything goes perfectly, you can still proceed on a very positive path.”
Looking ahead to the World Championship, still tight-lipped, and watch out for the returning Marc Marquez: “I think it’s rather early. Clearly, there are still many races to be held, but for the spectacle it’s much better when there are many riders fighting. Marc? We need the world champion on track. It’s an additional motivation to have the best at the moment with us. Surely you can never keep him out of the title fight, we have already seen a great comeback by Bagnaia in 2022, even without the Sprints. So he will definitely be fighting and will be fast, I’m sure of it.”
