Let's talk MotoGP: Here is the biggest question of this season

The 2024 season starts today! Until the first Grand Prix of the Season, Parlons MotoGP will try to detail as best as possible the expectations surrounding all the drivers, and dissect each question. This will be accompanied by a short prediction, and of course, you are invited to give yours in comments. Yesterday, we continued this series with Pedro Acosta, in an article that you can find by clicking here.

 

Thunderous

 

What a change. Frankly, at the end of last season, Fabio Di Giannantonio was absolutely insane, and really transformed into a sharp weapon. I don't remember a similar case in the last fifteen years, it's nice to see. To put you in context, “Diggia” arrived in MotoGP at the start of 2022 and has not really made a successful transition from Moto2, a category where he was good, at best. For more than a year and a half, he never got used to the Ducati Desmosedici, despite being the main force on the grid, and was unable to stand out within Gresini Racing, a successful team with Enea Bastianini then Alex Marquez . Logically, in the summer of 2023, discussions were going well regarding its future; no one could guarantee him a place at the highest level. He needed a miracle, and he brought it about.

 

 

In Indonesia, he excelled, achieving his first Top 4. Then, he repeated in Phillip Island with a podium, as well as in Qatar with a victory. Finally, in the final hours of the 2023 season, Ducati VR46 signed him for 2024, replacing Luca Marini. Here he is saved, ready to fight alongside Marco Bezzecchi. I have already extensively covered his exploits, notably in an article that I invite you to read by clicking here.

Obviously, this unicorn has a lot of expectations. Personally, he’s the driver I’m most excited to see racing. For a good and simple reason. During his bursts of brilliance, he was not only fast and explosive like a frequent outsider like Jack Miller or Brad Binder. He gave an impression of control worthy of the best in the world, and this was particularly illustrated in Qatar and Valencia, a circuit on which he was downgraded due to non-compliant tire pressure.

If we take all the tenors and compare their top performances over the past year, the end of the season is well ranked. Concretely, I'm not sure I saw Johann Zarco riding better than what "Diggia" showed in Qatar, or Bezzecchi being more comfortable in traffic than what he showed in Valencia. He was absolutely stunning. So, naturally, I ask for more.

 

 

It is difficult to understand its pressure, because there are two options. Firstly, he can avoid it by telling himself that his place is guaranteed for at least one more year, that it's a bonus. This can work in his favor once released, but also to his disadvantage if he takes the task too lightly. Did he do all this to return to anonymity? I don't know, but it would be a shame from a story point of view.

Also, he may feel expected, and therefore, suffer from pressure because it is true that Ducati VR46 made a daring bet by taking him. A Grand Prix winner and above all, such a performer, must deliver. This philosophy may work against him, because at the end of 2022, he had already expressed mental difficulties linked to the MotoGP environment. But also, it can push him to surpass himself exactly as was the case not so long ago. Regardless, he is a very interesting driver who is going to be quite difficult to predict.

 

 

The prognosis

 

In my opinion, it's a double-edged sword. Either Fabio Di Giannantonio manages to maintain this level of performance in 2024 and then will be able to claim very good contracts, or else, he falls back into complete anonymity. Subjectively, I think he will succeed. I humbly confide to you, I do not have many “marbles” to attach myself to regarding his case, because it benefits from an exceptional, relatively small sample. But what I saw from him in this last third of the season was just sensational.

Attention ; he also had air holes, or rather, standard results for him in Malaysia and Thailand, but I can't explain it, I can feel it. I want to see him succeed, like I always want to see David win against Goliath. For the poetry of sport, for the lyrical dimension of MotoGP, I want to see this slightly indifferent and endearing guy reverse history.

What does success mean? I don't expect him to win in all the rounds, no, but at least, well placed in the top 10 with moments of genius - I haven't forgotten this overtaking of Johann Zarco in Valencia - sprinkled, unexpected, out of the time. Even if I imagine him less strong than Marco Bezzecchi, I can clearly see a finish between 4th and 7th place in the general classification at the end of the year, with, in the end, a season perhaps more memorable than that of his teammate.

This is just my opinion, and yours is expected in comments. So, what do you predict for Fabio Di Giannantonio in 2024? Tell me now!

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport