Fabio Di Giannantonio's MotoGP season last year was marked by challenges and difficulties, but he also saw impressive progression towards the end of the season. His chief mechanic, Frankie Carchedi, highlights several key moments which marked this turning point for the Italian driver.
According to Carchedi, the real turning point for By Giannantonio occurred at Silverstone. There, despite a difficult start to the race, By Giannantonio managed to close the gap with the leaders, demonstrating his speed potential. This sign of recovery was confirmed during the German and Dutch Grand Prix, but it was at Silverstone that By Giannantonio became aware of his ability to compete with the leading men: “ For many people, Di Giannantonio's metamorphosis seemed crazy, but I knew it since Silverstone »Comments Carchedi on crash.net.
He explains : " because if you go back and look at the time gap to Pecco Bagnaia at the start, then look at it again after 15 laps – just before he went in for the wet tires – he had reduced the gap with Pecco. So he was one of the fastest and he had won this time despite having to overtake competitors... ».
Frankie Carchedi: “ we knew Fabio Di Giannantonio had the pace to win »
Qualification has become a crucial aspect for By Giannantonio, and once he started consistently qualifying for Q2, his race weekend was transformed. Stronger qualifying allowed him to start from more advantageous positions on the grid, which led to stronger performances in the race: “ if you move to Q2, you're not going to start lower than the fourth row no matter what. From then on, it's a completely different weekend " remember Frankie Carchedi.
The highlight of the season Di Giannantonio was his victory in Qatar, where he showed impressive pace throughout the race. Even at Valencia, where he started from further back on the grid, he managed to reduce the gap with the leaders, demonstrating his ability to fight for the podium: “ we knew he had the pace to win. Unfortunately, he needed one more round » remembers the man Gresini.
Frankie Carchedi is now the chief engineer of Marc Marquez et Fabio Di Giannantonio became an opponent by joining the VR46 team. How Carchedi Does he see this new situation? “ I hope he continues on the same path he finished last year and is as high as possible in the championship… but one place behind us! » he jokes. “ All joking aside, we had a close bond, it was really nice to work with him last year and he really deserves to stay in MotoGP. It will be interesting to see how he continues to progress. ».
