INDIA in F1

Tag: Fabio Di Giannantonio

  • Bagnaia rolls the dice as Diggia takes stunning maiden win

    Bagnaia rolls the dice as Diggia takes stunning maiden win

    The number 49 makes a little history to defeat the reigning Champion, but the 20-point haul for the #1 sees the lead increase to 21 points.

    Losail (Qatar), 19 Nov 2023: It was tense. It was awesome. And it was won in style – defeating the reigning Champion over 22 laps of the Losail International Circuit. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP) trailed Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) for much of the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar, picked his moment, made a decisive move for the lead, and then kept it together to become a MotoGP race winner. And all that in the unbelievable context and tension of #PECCOvsMARTIN.

    That context and tension was Bagnaia leading the way for much of the race and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) facing a comeback after a bad start, before then losing more positions too as he faded down to tenth. Bagnaia didn’t seem to know that either, as the #1 nearly opened the goal for himself as he tried to attack Diggia in return and sailed into the run off at Turn 1. With the gap behind enough for him to get back on track in second, it was a heart in mouth moment but only a moment.

    Third went to Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) as the number 10 got his elbows out in the fight at the front and then found enough in the locker to hold off a charge from Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) over the final few laps. But let’s rewind.

    As the lights went out, everything changed in an instant. Split by just 0.022 and one position on the grid, by the exit of Turn 1 Bagnaia had shot through to steal the holeshot from Marini as Martin suffered a difficult start and dropped back to eight, behind teammate Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing). Not long after that the team showed the Frenchman who was behind him too, and he either had a moment and dropped back or heeded a message and let Martin through. With the added complication of Viñales glued to the rear wheel of the number 89 and getting past as well.

    Right at the front though, Bagnaia held firm with a few tenths in hand – ahead of quite a squabble too. Diggia got through on Marini and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) tried to follow suit, but had to wait a few corners before he got through. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) needed no invitation to slice past the number 10 either, before also attacking Alex Marquez. Unhindered by the battle, Bagnaia marched on. And so did Diggia – able to unleash his pace and start to reel in the Ducati Lenovo machine ahead.

    Martin had his hands full too. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was right on his tail and Viñales right behind the number 93, with Zarco watching on and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) catching the group as well.

    At the front, Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio still had Binder for company, but the gap would start to increase from there on out as the KTM was left to battle Alex Marquez and Marini instead. The gaps behind Martin, however, were even smaller as a queue was forming behind the number 89.

    Viñales was the first mover in the group to get past Marc Marquez and then stalk Martin before making a move. Once past, the Aprilia was gone. The Repsol Honda then attacked and took over before heading wide, letting Martin and Quartararo back through. El Diablo wasted no time in then dispatching Martin, leaving Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) next up as the number 89 was down to eighth again. Miller was through with 10 to go, and next up was Zarco. What would the Frenchman do?

    The battle for victory, however, was now a duel: Bagnaia vs Diggia. The laps ticked down and the gap went out to a few tenths then back down, but no move was made in a tense game of chess. Lap by lap, the two marched on round Lusail.

    Plenty of moves were made in the podium fight though as Viñales arrived at Binder, Alex Marquez and Marini, with too many headlines to choose as the elbows came out.

    By five to go, “Mapping 8” appeared on Diggia’s dashboard, before “0000000” appeared on his pit board. Everyone was left wondering what that exactly meant. Regardless, as Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) also made his way through on Martin, more points in the title fight were on the line at the front as Diggia decided to make his move.

    It was a pretty perfect one at that, squeezing through at Turn 12. And Bagnaia tried to reply on the cutback but Diggia shut the door. From there they headed round the final sector and then corner before blasting onto the main straight, and then hearts went into mouths in the Ducati Lenovo box.

    Bagnaia tucked in and gained down the straight before pulling out to try and take the lead back – and couldn’t get it stopped. He managed to pull up enough to avoid clattering into the Gresini and headed into the run off, then able to scrub off the speed and rejoin in second. Own goal avoided for the Championship leader, but that was that if Di Giannantonio could do three more clean laps of Lusail. And he could!

    Crossing the line with 2.7 seconds in hand, the Italian becomes the eighth different winner of the season and takes an emotional maiden MotoGP victory. Bagnaia takes those 20 points to extend the gap to 21 over Martin, with the Spaniard crossing the line in tenth after a dramatic weekend of contact in the Tissot Sprint, a little glory and disappointment for both riders, everything on the line… and the title fight definitively to be decided in the final round.

    Marini completed the podium as he pulled enough out late on to stay out of range of Viñales, with the Aprilia rider still charging up to fourth. Fifth went to Binder, ahead of Alex Marquez and Quartararo, who got extremely close to that fight in the final laps. Bastianini also charged up the order, setting a scorcher late on and finishing eighth ahead of Miller.

    Behind Martin, a final frisson of stress hovered in the form of Marc Marquez over the final lap, but the number 93 couldn’t find a way through. Zarco, right behind both the number 93 and his own teammate Martin, tried a move though – and made some contact with Marquez, the Honda staying up but Zarco barely, dropping back a few seconds to take P12 only tenths ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team). Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) and Rookie of the Year Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) completed the points.

    And so the curtain falls in Qatar for 2023, after a weekend of two halves for the title contenders and a little chapter of awesome history made for Di Giannantonio. Now, it’s truly all or nothing in Valencia. Bagnaia leads by 21 points. 37 more are on the table… and the gloves will be off. Join us for the Grand Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana next weekend – there will be fireworks!
  • Di Giannantonio disappears for dominant first win: Moto2

    Di Giannantonio disappears for dominant first win: Moto2

    Jerez, 2 May 2021: Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) has come close before, but the Italian is finally an intermediate class race winner after a Moto2 masterclass at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España, the fourth round of the Moto2 World Championship here on Sunday.

    Getting a near perfect start from the front row, the Italian then pulled away for glory and left his rivals battling for best of the rest. Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) won that fight as the Italian took his first rostrum of the season in second, with Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) taking a solid third to get back on the box.

    Fabio Di Giannantonio: “I feel amazing, honestly it feels amazing to come back to first spot and take my first victory in moto2, I sweated a lot to get this victory in the last two years and now it came… wow. Amazing! The race was amazing and I made a fantastic start which I didn’t expect because always at the start I’m not so good, but I made a fantastic start and when I was there I just said, ‘ok do your rhythm and lines, enjoy the bike… 41.5/6 was coming quite easily so in the end just an amazing result, what can I say, just a big smile.!”

    Di Giannantonio took the holeshot from the middle of the front row of the grid, squeezing ahead of poleman Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on the brakes. Bezzecchi held third place on the first lap but then very nearly found himself in the Turn 6 gravel trap when he got it out of shape under braking, the Italian somehow missing Gardner’s rear wheel but running well wide to allow both Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) through.

    It didn’t take long for remarkable rookie Raul Fernandez to move into the podium places too with a smooth move on the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team’s Fernandez into Turn 1. The number 25 then quickly closed on to the rear wheel of teammate Gardner, before disaster struck behind for Augusto Fernandez he crashed out at Turn 6. He was joined there by Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) as the front of the Italian’s Kalex washed way in a very similar crash.  

    At the front, Diggia’s lead had stretched out to 1.5 seconds as he laid down both searing pace and consistency, so attention switched to the fight for second and third, with Gardner having managed to get his nose in front of Raul Fernandez. Behind the pair of Ajo riders, Lowes was pushed back to fifth as Bezzecchi came steamrolling through. The Brit got himself back in front of the Italian but, into Turn 1, the Sky Racing Team VR46 man pulled off a carbon copy move to take fourth once more.

    Raul Fernandez then pulled off a brave overtake on teammate Gardner to retake second, all the while Di Giannantonio was streaking further clear; 3 seconds his lead with 15 laps of Jerez left. It went from bad to worse for polesitter Gardner as Bezzecchi pounced on the Australian’s apparent struggles, nudging him down a further place to fourth. The Italian was on a charge as he looked to make amends after his early error running wide.

    A mistake then came from Raul Fernandez as a serious bobble at the final corner forced him off line and gave a chance that Bezzecchi wasn’t going to turn down. The Italian moved through to second and got his head down in the closing stages as Gardner and Lowes started piling the pressure on Raul Fernandez in the fight for the final place on the podium. Only a handful of laps were left, and both Di Giannantonio and Bezzechi seemed comfortably clear in first and second.

    A mistake from Gardner into Turn 6, whilst trying to find a way through on teammate Fernandez, then saw Lowes slice through and into fourth. Onto the penultimate lap and the fight for third was really heating up. Lowes elbowed Fernandez out of the way into Turn 2 as the number 25 started dropping back, sending the Spaniard wide and allowing Gardner to pounce too. The Australian was trying to apply some pressure to Lowes too but the Brit’s late-race pace was untouchable and third was his.

    Di Giannantonio pulled a huge stand-up wheelie over the line to celebrate a maiden Moto2™ victory in style, with Bezzecchi and Lowes joining him on the Jerez podium. Gardner took fourth ahead of Fernandez in fifth, with the title standings taking a significant shuffle as a result. Heading to Le Mans in a fortnight, it’s still Gardner that leads the way but Lowes now sits only three points adrift, with Fernandez a further three back in third.

    Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Xavi Vierge was pushed all the way by Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) for sixth place, with the Spaniard holding on by just over a tenth of a second to the best the Japanese rider to ten valuable points. Italtrans Racing Team’s Joe Roberts took the chequered flag in eighth, ahead of Inde Aspar Team’s Aron Canet in ninth. The fight for the final place inside the top ten was settled on the final lap when Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) crashed out whilst trying to find a way through on Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP), meaning the German took tenth.

    Marcos Ramirez (American Racing), Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up), Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP40), Lorenzo Baldassarri (MV Agusta Forward Racing) and Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) completed the points. Albert Arenas (Inde Aspar Team), Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP40) and Simone Corse (MV Agusta Forward Racing) all crashed out.

    That’s a wrap on the Spanish GP. Next stop Le Mans in two weeks, with the Championship remaining close as ever ahead of another classic venue.

    Moto2 Podium:

    1 Fabio Di Giannantonio – Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 – Kalex – 39:07.396
    2 Marco Bezzecchi – Sky Racing Team VR46 – Kalex – +1.722
    3 Sam Lowes – Elf Marc VDS Racing Team – Kalex – +2.229