Fabio Di Giannantonio disappointed: “After lap 2, the race was over”

On Saturday, Fabio Di Giannantonio had come to VR46’s rescue in the Qatar Sprint. Starting from third on the grid, the Roman was right up there with the leaders from the outset, overtook Jorge Martin on the final lap and secured second place.

A poor start and revenge for Jorge Martin

In the 22-lap race, ‘Diggia’ found himself dropping down the field from third on the grid. The first lap was a disaster: he got off to a poor start and was effectively run over by the Trackhouse Aprilia bikes of Raúl Fernández and Ai Ogura. By the end of the opening lap, the 2023 Qatar winner was down to eighth place.

On lap 3, he overtook Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) to move up to 7th, but he couldn’t make any further progress. Whilst Marco Bezzecchi and Fernandez were clocking 1:52s at the front, Di Giannantonio was, at times, the slowest rider in the top eight. Halfway through the race, of all people, Martin – whom he had overtaken the day before – closed the gap and overtook him. The Italian was unable to fight back and finished eighth.

He explained why after the race. “This race was over after the second lap. I had severe vibrations on the bike. It was impossible to put my knee or elbow down,” said the Italian, clearly frustrated. “It’s the third or fourth race in a row where something beyond our control has happened in the main race.”

Willkommen zum Rennen in Katar

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Jorge Martin

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Pedro Acosta

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Raúl Fernández

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Enea Bastianini

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Johann Zarco

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Iker Lecuona

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Pedro Acosta

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez

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Jorge Martin

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Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Fermin Aldeguer

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Marco Bezzecchi gewinnt das Rennen

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Marc Márquez und Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Raúl Fernández

Foto: Gold & Goose

Sieger Marco Bezzecchi

Foto: Gold & Goose

Willkommen zum Rennen in Katar

© Gold & Goose

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VR46 rider disappointed after setting fastest time on Sunday afternoon

Yet Di Giannantonio had felt comfortable in the warm-up and set the fastest time. Expectations were high: “After the warm-up, I even said that I’d had the best feeling on the bike in the last two years.” There had been no warning signs. “It was a really nasty surprise.”

In the World Championship, Sunday was a minor setback. With 17 points from the sprint and the race, Di Giannantonio now has 282 points and sits in 6th place. Ai Ogura extended his lead over the Ducati rider to twelve points. The penultimate MotoGP race weekend of the 2026 season will take place in Portimão from 20 to 22 November.