The VR46 Ducati Motogp Rider Fabio di Giannantonio set a knee record in Friday’s practice at the German Grand Prix, saying, “It’s great, but probably just for the photo.”
After topping FP1 at Sachsenring, all expectations were that Marc Marquez would continue his form for an hour-long practice session on Friday afternoon.
However, the championship leader, who won all the German Grand Prix between 2013 and 2021, was selected for a final time attack on soft tires, finishing the third day.
Fabio Di Giannantonio was able to use Marquez as a reference for the final lap, creating a new lap record of 1M19.071 to see the fastest on Friday.
This is a significant improvement in the time attack format for the Italian, who said in a recent round that he would need to start high in the grid to earn the benefits of his strong racepace.
Looking back at his day, Di Giannantonio moved to down his Daytop performance.
“Well, certainly, that’s great, but it’s only Friday,” he told TNT Sports.
“We have to be realistic, certainly, we have to keep our feet on the ground and we do a good job, so we have to keep working.
“But let’s say that the important practice is tomorrow’s qualifications. Here, it’s very important to have a good place on the grid in both races.
“And the surest points are Saturday afternoons and races.
“So being in front of us on Friday is great, but maybe for the media and photography. It’s good for the emotions, but we just have to focus and keep working.”
Following Marquez at the end of the session, he added:
“Then, in the end, I saw that I got a little faster with that run.
“I didn’t know the tires were different compared to him, so I took a little more space, put on the line, kneeling, it was great.
“But it’s always good to follow a rider who has acquired a lot on tracks like this.”
Saturdays at the German Grand Prix are set to be heavily affected by bad weather. This makes Di Giannantonio want to see if the improvements made to the bike due to its wet conditions have actually paid off.
“I’m very interested in bikes (white) because it changed the balance of my bike significantly compared to wet practice at the beginning of the year when my feelings weren’t great,” he said.
“So, we want to know if we can find another good feeling in the wet thing, as dry, and that will be the day of discovery.”