In his second season with the VR46 team and his first with the coveted status of a factory Ducati rider, Fabio Di Giannantonio has taken a significant step forward, without abandoning the essence of his riding style: clear-headedness. With four Grand Prix podium finishes, including a superb second place in Australia, the 27-year-old Italian has confirmed his place among the paddock's top riders. However, behind these impressive figures lies a more nuanced reality, one of compromise, deliberate choices… and sometimes frustration.
On paper, it's By Giannantonio He showed he knew how to qualify high up the grid: three front-row starts and three second-row starts. But the picture is more bleak when looking at the season as a whole. In the other sixteen qualifying sessions, he failed to secure a spot on the front two rows, too often finding himself trapped in the middle of the pack as soon as the lights went out.
And in modern MotoGP, starting ninth or tenth is no longer a simple inconvenience: it's a risky move. Diggia He is perfectly aware of this, and he openly admits it.
« HonestlyI don't have the courage to play the kamikaze from the very first round " he confided after the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Starting ninth in Portimão, he could only manage 14th place at the finish, unable to break free from the initial traffic. Not due to a lack of speed, but by choice.
Aggression, yes. Recklessness, no: If you hit someone in a dive, it hurts a lot. » recalls Fabio Di Giannantonio
By Giannantonio wants to clarify an essential nuance, often misunderstood in a paddock where heroism is sometimes confused with extreme risk-taking.
« I didn't say I didn't have the guts to be aggressive. I said I didn't have the guts to be a kamikaze. It's completely different »
The pilot VR46 describes with almost clinical precision what the first braking maneuver in MotoGP represents:
« At the end of the straight, you reach 200 or 300 km/h in a braking zone, and in front of you there's a group of several pilots who each weigh around 200 kilos. If you hit someone in a dive, it hurts badly. »
Faced with this situation, his choice is clear: to play it safe rather than risk it. A choice that may cost him positions, but one that protects his career.
However, Diggia rejects the label of a timid pilot. He recalls on motorsport total that aggression is an integral part of his DNA, when it is controlled.
« Look at the sprint in Portugal: I got a really good start and was already sixth after three corners. So yes, I'm aggressive when necessary. But I don't rush in headfirst.. »
Le discours de By Giannantonio It also illustrates a profound evolution of MotoGP, particularly since the introduction of sprint races.
« I think the biggest change has been the arrival of sprints. At first, everyone thought they would be very short, almost without consequences. »
Reality quickly caught up with the drivers. The sprints became races in their own right, with their own stakes, risks, and physical toll.
« Today, I find that Everyone is calmer, more deliberate in their actions.This is the biggest change I have personally noticed. »
An interesting paradox: more races, but fewer suicidal actions, because every fall now costs you twice over the weekend.
In sprinting, By Giannantonio has also been particularly solid, with five podium finishes in 2025, even if he still missed out on victory.
Fabio DiGiannantonio It is neither the most spectacular nor the most extreme. But it embodies a generation of riders who have understood that, in an ultra-dense MotoGP where overtaking is becoming increasingly complex, courage is no longer measured by the violence of an initial braking maneuver, but by the ability to endure, to learn, and to seize opportunities when they arise.
At a time when motorcycles are getting faster and margins are getting thinner and thinner, Diggia has made his choice: calculated risks, controlled aggression and respect for physical limits.
A bet that may be less flamboyant, but which could well prove profitable in the long term.
