Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) suffered an ordeal during the Sprint of the Thailand Grand Prix this Saturday in Buriram, retiring on lap 11 of 13 after his Ducati GP24 overheated dramatically. The Italian, with burns to his hands, legs and neck, was forced to throw in the towel as he aimed for the top 10, revealing a “really strange” problem that isolated him among the Ducati riders.
Fabio DiGiannantonio revealed that he had to give up Thailand Grand Prix Sprint Race due to burns to his hands, legs and neck caused by excessive overheating of his motorcycle.
Fabio DiGiannantonio had a nightmare start to the season in the Thailand Grand Prix sprint. The VR46 driver had to abandon the race due to an extreme overheating problem on his Ducati. A situation " really strange " which forced him to return to the pits before the end of the race.
By Giannantonio was in a good position to finish in the top 10 when he suddenly lost pace and had to retire. What happened was that the motorcycle completely burned down " he explained after the race. I had burns on my hands, legs, neck. It was completely burning, like never before. Ducati is one of the coolest bikes out there, so this is really, really weird. »
The Italian driver revealed that the problem started during free practice. I had this kind of situation on Friday morning already.. We know that it is not a technical problem, the bike was working well, everything was fine. But you have to understand that I am the only pilot to burn myself. Other riders complain about the heat, and sometimes the front lever is hot, but for me it was not possible to ride. »
Fabio Di Giannantonio: “ I removed all parts of my body from the motorcycle, it burned me completely »
By Giannantonio described the extreme conditions he endured during the race. In the straight lines, my feet were not on the fairing. I was riding with my legs and arms open. When I braked, I put my two feet apart. I removed all parts of my body from the motorcycle, it burned me completely. »
Faced with this untenable situation, he made the decision to give up. It was too much. I wanted to continue. But before the last corner I found myself almost on the right side of the track. So I said: "Okay, I'm out of the points, the bike is burning, I'm racing a lot, my shoulder hurts, so it's over, I can't anymore – let’s save a few laps for tomorrow’s race” »
Unlike Aprilia, which has historically had overheating issues during Asian races, By Giannantonio is the only pilot Ducati to have suffered from this problem Buriram that holds the top spot. " My colleagues from the same brand are racing without this kind of big problem, so we have to be like this. I'm not too worried. But today, it's a shame because we lost a good opportunity to do good work despite the injury. »
By Giannantonio is competing this race weekend just over two weeks after breaking his collarbone in a wheelie at the Sepang. Although he said he was in good shape at 95%, he admitted that his shoulder was working at " zero percent "This injury certainly added an additional difficulty to an already complicated race.
Despite this disappointment, Fabio DiGiannantonio remains optimistic and confident in his team's ability to resolve the issue before Sunday's main race. I really trust the team and I am convinced that they will solve the problem. We have to find a way to solve the problem, to find solutions. I don't want to think that we can't solve it. »
Fabio DiGiannantonio had a tough day, but he remains determined to learn from the experience and prepare for the main race. With the support of his team, he hopes to resolve the overheating issues and show his true potential on the track.
MotoGP, Thailand D2: Starting grid
MotoGP, Thailand D2: Sprint classification
