VR46 Ducati Motogp Rider Fabio di Giannantonio says that he “found a great feeling” with the GP25 starting the year “far away” due to injuries.
The one-time Grand Prix winner is now in 2025 with factory support for the first time at MotoGP after writing a new two-year contract to remain in VR46 until the end of the next season.
However, Fabio di Giannantonio’s time as a factory support rider didn’t get off to a great start as he crashed at the end of the first day of Test while doing Willie, causing him to be kicked out of the rest of the preseason.
However, by round three, Digiannantonio had returned to the podium for the first time since 2023, bagging two more podiums, earning a third in the Silverstone Sprint and a third in Mugelogrambria.
Fabio di Giannantonio was “far away”
After 12 rounds of the campaign, he’s headed for his best season as he finished fifth in the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend with a 142-point standings.
“In the end, I’m happy,” he told the official MotoGP website.
“We have started (away) with injuries and everything you know well.
“We’ve recovered, and we found some amazing feelings on our bikes.
“We did the last four races in a really strong way, and we are fifth in the championship.
“So, at this point, it’s my top ranking position. So we have to be happy.
“We’re improving, we’re doing great races, and we need to fix a few things here and there.
“But if you look at the overall path, I think we’re in the right direction.”
At the same stage in the 2024 campaign, Di Giannantonio was ninth in the championship with 112 points, making it the entire season without a podium.
In 2023, after 12 rounds, Digiannantonio had only accumulated 43 points, finishing in 16th place.
A second half of the season in 2023 saved his career as VR46 offered him a seat the following year, and his place at Gresini was taken to Mark Marquez.