Fabio Di Giannantonio's Sprint was compromised by a contact with Alex Marquez at the third corner of the first lap. After going off track, the VR46 team's rider launched a comeback that took him up to 8th place. In hindsight, he's not very interested in commenting on the Spanish rider's maneuver as he is in talking about safety on the track, especially at the start of the race.
"I'd like to make a more profound, more accurate poin ," he began. "In my opinion, we've seen too many truly risky situations. In races, the first hard braking is always the most dangerous. Unfortunately, there have been incidents in which riders have been injured, situations that were incredible, pushing the limits. If we haven't learned this by now, and I include myself in this, there needs to be stronger penalties in the early stages of the race to make sure that, not only is the fear of causing damage eliminated, but also that of a bigger penalty. This would be positive for us riders, since we would know that we're facing a dangerous situation and a bigger penalty. I say this because, in my opinion, all the riders felt unsafe or were afraid in the first few corners, due to the reckless maneuvers of others, and I'm sure I've done the same."
Fabio is counting on the "MotoGP judges" to use an iron fist.
"I have a lot of confidence in race direction, also because I spoke with them, and they told me they would do so," he continued. "I'm confident that, in the future, we'll no longer see certain things that are also bad for the show."
He prefers to gloss over the incident with Marquez.
"I just think that Alex and I could've put on a great show today because we were going really fast. And, because of a very dangerous maneuver, we risked losing three riders from the race... me, him, and Raul. Above all, we lost two role players because of a dangerous maneuver, which is a shame."
That said, more than two and a half hours after the end of the Sprint, the Stewards have not yet announced any penalties.
"I think there's been a change in the stewards' approach over the last two years. They told us they'd be consistent in their judgments. I want to give them my full trust. They told me they'd be working this afternoon, and I hope they'll be consistent," Di Giannantonio said accommodatingly.
Alex, however, said he didn't deserve a penalty.
"In his position, I'd say the same thing. He's thinking about the championship, and not receiving a penalty for tomorrow is important," the rider from Rome replied. "I'm making a broader point about safety because, in my opinion, Alex, Raul, and I were in danger today, and we were also lucky because it happened in that corner. If it had happened, for example, in the first S-curve at Balaton Park, what would we have said? I don't want anything bad to happen, like to Nakagami, Bastianini in Barcelona, or Martin in Motegi. We don't need any more broken bones to do something."