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The tests in Portimão, which are fundamental for defining the final details as the beginning of the championship nears, ended prematurely for Fabio di Giannantonio. Involved in a bad fall yesterday at Turn 7, which also caused him a slight head trauma, the Gresini team’s Italian rider was, under medical advice, forced to skip the last important test stages. His frustration is definitely palpable at such a delicate moment, and Fabio didn’t hesitate to point a finger at one of the key safety factors for riders, one that is all too often perhaps not taken into consideration.
“Yesterday’s fall was really bad,” the rider from Rome explained. “But I’m better now. I might have been able to race today, but the doctor advised me to use caution and not to take risks after having had a head injury. Normally, you have to wait at least twenty-four hours. It’s a shame because yesterday was very positive. The sensations were as good as in Sepang and Valencia. It’s a shame because it wasn’t even a highside, but the asphalt here in Portimão is something we riders have always complained about. There are huge stones, and being hit by them at these speeds hurts more than just falling to the ground. When I fell, I felt like an explosion hitting the asphalt, and I lost consciousness. But you should see the condition the helmet is in. I’ve never seen anything like that! With the track in these conditions, you might as well race in Monte Carlo with the walls! I think the tracks should be regulated as strictly as that of the suits and everything that concerns the safety of us riders.”
The fall of the Gresini team rider, a loss of the front, shouldn’t generate risks of this caliber.
“The strange thing,” Fabio continued, “was that we had, in fact, asked for more attention to be given to the track conditions, but the only corner on which they’ve worked so far was the first. I don’t know if they’ll continue in view of the first race, but it would’ve been better if they had fixed it before these tests.”
How do you feel now?
“I’m pretty pissed. Immediately after the accident, and during the hours that followed, I was disoriented, I was nauseous. Besides having to miss important tests, now I’ll also be forced to stop training right before the beginning of the championship, but I’ll be ready.”
Had you planned to work on the Sprint Race today?
“I had already started working on the pace for the sprint race yesterday, with a new set of tires, before the fall. Overall, though, we worked well so far. Rhe feeling with the team is great.”
There are those who say this year’s championship will put even more pressure on riders in terms of results. What do you think?
“To be honest, right now, I don’t feel much pressure, also because I had very fluctuating results last year and, to date, I don’t feel I can say that last season was a one-hundred-percent positive season. I’m fully aware of the great opportunity I have in being able to race in the MotoGP but, right now, I’m enjoying this opportunity, fully experiencing the excellent mood that has been created with the entire Gresini team.”
