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Fabio Di Giannantonio arrived at the Buriram track to contest the first race of the season in a state of recovery. The fracture in his left collarbone - remedied at the end of the first day of testing in Malaysia after an unfortunate wheelie that prevented him from notching up the kilometers on the VR46 team's Desmosedici - is still fresh, but more importantly it has affected that same shoulder already operated on in November, when the Rome rider had chosen to end his 2024 early to present himself ready for the starting blocks of 2025. The story, however, did not go smoothly, he had to almost entirely skip the winter tests because of the new injury and today "Diggia" does not hide the fact that he felt a lot of pain in the two sessions held during the Thai morning. He thought that his body was less in pain on the bike, but instead he found that he had to grit his teeth hard. In spite of everything, his morale is not subdued; on the contrary, Fabio puts forth the happiness of being back on the bike, the good work done on this Friday irresective of the fifteenth quickest time, and gets excited talking about the "kick-ass" potential of his new GP24.
"I was excited to get back on the bike because it's always nice and I was also very curious to start working with the team again to understand the bike. In my opinion it was a very good return, obviously if we look at the rankings we are not at the top, as is normal, but we did a good job, we were fast. On the physical level, on the other hand, I was expecting it to be easier, I didn't think I would be in so much pain and instead I really have a lot of pain in my shoulder, as well as my collarbone, more than I had last year at the end of the season. In fact, the gap we are experiencing, in addition to the little knowledge we have of the new bike, also depends so much on my riding, because I am cumbersome and not fluid."
So is Fabio really suffering in riding the bike?
"In some places I really have pain, but you get over it. Then in these situations the more you ride, the more you can compensate, find your way to feel less pain. That's why I think as the weekend goes on I will certainly be more tired, but at the same time I will find solutions to contain the pain."
But had you also felt the pain in your shoulder in Malaysia before you fractured your collarbone?
"No, in Sepang I was ready. I lacked just a little training, however, I had no pain, I was 100 percent from that point of view."
Yesterday you said that the goal to be achieved this weekend would be to complete the races. In light of today's two sessions are you of the same opinion?
"As I said, it wasn't easy. It's going to be a tough weekend and maybe it would have been anyway because it's really hot, hotter than usual. It's not going to be easy but I said it from the beginning, if we approach the weekend completely conservatively, with the idea of having something less, then it would have been better to stay at home, recover for real and come ready in Argentina. Whereas once you decide to come to the track you have to act like everything is normal. The team is made up of fantastic professionals who give me a hand to get behind the problem and try to be okay physically, but the focus must always be to do well."
Moving from your body to your Ducati, how did you find the GP24?
"It has incredible potential, mamma mia... It's a super-performing bike, it can do crazy things," says the number 49 in a tone of wonderment, "and I really see a lot of margin. Last years I perceived a little limitation in some areas, while now I clearly feel that it is me and the lack of knowledge of the bike that are the limitations. I have seen only positive things. Also, having the same bike as Marc and Pecco allows you to compare your data with the best in the world, and as a result the comparison helps you understand much sooner how to work, where to work and what I can improve myself in. It's something cool."
