Di Giannantonio (Ducati) shocked by Aprilia: “We’ve got to work hard!”

Fabio Di Giannantonio has been training hard during the MotoGP summer break to put himself in a strong position for the second half of the season. In the first eleven Grands Prix of 2026, the VR46 rider showed impressive consistency – he was regularly in the top three and racked up points steadily. As a result, the Italian is just 24 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin (Aprilia) in the overall standings. Had it not been for his crash at the Sachsenring Grand Prix, he would likely have been even closer.

On Friday at Silverstone, ‘Diggia’ made it clear that he’s a force to be reckoned with at the British Grand Prix too. He finished FP1 in 5th place, and in the MotoGP qualifying session he came 3rd behind the Aprilia duo of Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez. However, he was four tenths of a second off the blisteringly fast ‘Bez’.

“I felt really good and had plenty of grip. I just tried to ride cleanly,” said Di Giannantonio in the subsequent media session. How did he get on with tyre wear? “I didn’t have any major problems with it, but compared to the Aprilias, I did. They can use the front tyre to conserve the rear tyre. In that respect, they’re ahead of us.”

Di Giannantonio: “I’ve been battling them since the start of the year!”

Di Giannantonio keeps emphasising just how good the Aprilia is this year. But isn’t the Ducati’s overall package still better than the bike from Noale? “I’ve been battling them since the start of the year – under very different conditions. I’ve seen that they’re slightly better than us,” the 27-year-old is convinced. “We need to work hard to close the gap on them. You could see it again today: apart from me, the top five is made up entirely of Aprilias.”

What was it like for him to start FP1 on the demanding Silverstone Circuit after the summer break of just under four weeks? “The worst thing ever. I’ve been training so hard all month, and I’m absolutely knackered,” smiled Di Giannantonio. “But it’s all part of the job. At the gym, we don’t use our muscles in the same way as we do on the motorbike. When you’re riding a MotoGP bike, it’s completely different.”

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08.08.2026 - 10:35