It ended one step away from the Top 10 on Friday in Aragon for Fabio Di Giannantonio. Returning after the dislocation of his left shoulder suffered in Austria, the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team rider in fact ended FP2 in 13th position, stopping just under a tenth from direct access to Q2. A result that leaves a hint of regret for the Roman rider, who, however, prefers to focus on the positive side of the day.
"You have to be very objective: in my opinion to have resumed riding a MotoGP today is a victory, because until five days ago I was struggling to make basic movements with my shoulder. It means I did a great job at home and I'm very happy to be able to ride and do the race," said Fabio, who is in a lot of pain riding his Desmosedici.
"Obviously, I'm struggling a little bit with the riding and when I increase the intensity I can't be fluid and precise, I'm a little bit cumbersome on the bike, and I'm also a little bit in protection because every now and then I get some twinges that hurt a lot ," he explained, " For me we're doing a good job overall because I'm doing quite well in the race pace. There are a couple of corners where we lose a lot and by fixing them we can take a big step forward. It's a shame we didn't get into Q2, however, we'll try tomorrow."
Physical limitations are not the only ones Diggia encountered, but certainly the ones that affected his performance the most.
"Let's say that to be really close to the top we should also improve a little bit the bike where I feel it pushes a lot on the front. I'm suffering a little bit from this lack of grip in the corner, but apart from that it's because my shoulder came out two weeks ago. It was normal to be at this point and in my opinion we are already doing a great job," he stressed.
Shoulder grip, however, does not seem to particularly worry the Ducatista, who is convinced he can handle both the Sprint and the GP.
"Today I didn't use the dose for the race, but some painkillers I had to take, because this morning it was already critical to put the suit on," he said, " I never did 10 or 20 laps, but I'm not very worried because for me the worst part of the weekend will be tomorrow in qualifying or in case I have to battle and be more aggressive on the bike. By setting my pace in the race, I think I can handle the pain well."
Asked then about the fact that the gap between the Ducati GP23s and GP24s seems to have narrowed at the Aragon track, Di Giannantonio then concluded by giving his views on the matter.
"I couldn't say, because I didn't inquire and I didn't really understand why the factory riders are struggling more. Although in reality I didn't see that much fatigue in the second practise, because Pecco was running very strong with the averages - he admitted - But, in my opinion, we have a very good potential and, like all weekends, when we are all in place, we will always find this gap again and it will change little compared to the other races."
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