Starting from Q1, Fabio Di Giannantonio secured pole position and second place in Saturday’s Sprint Race in Brazil. A great day of comebacks and impressive results. One for the books. Or almost. Because just when everything seemed set, a small mistake on the penultimate lap marred the picture. It might have been small, but it was big enough to open the door for Marc Marquez and hand him the keys to victory. Tomorrow, however, the Roman rider feels ready to seize his second chance.
“I’m very happy,” the VR46 man declared, “it was an almost perfect day. The race went according to plan, except for two mistakes: one at the start, on the first lap, and one at the end, right when Marc passed me. I’m a bit angry with myself because, unfortunately, it wasn’t a real battle; I made a mistake there and made it too easy for him. It’s not easy to pass on this track: in fact, even when I was behind him, I felt like I had a bit more, but passing without taking too many risks was really complicated. In the end, though, we got the job done. As usual, I try to see the glass as half full, also because I think we’ve had a great weekend so far. We worked especially well yesterday: I feel good on the bike, and we’re going really fast.”
Did you make the mistake to close the door, or did you just go a bit wide?
"Between turns 11 and 12, I had a front-end lockup and went wide. This slowed me down, allowing him to pass me."
Did having Marquez behind you for the entire race put pressure on you?
"The truth is, it doesn’t affect me. It could be him or anyone else; all the riders are very aggressive and strong in race mode. If it had been Jorge [Martin] or Bezzecchi, it would have been the same. You just think about yourself and try to do your best so you don’t get attacked."
After being passed, did you think about retaking the position?
“He was always braking very hard; he took full advantage of the fact that it’s difficult to pass here. I didn’t feel like taking that risk with a slightly crazy move today, because it was the right thing to do to bring home the first podium of the year, even if it’s a Sprint.”
Yesterday you were way back. How did you turn the situation around?
“I looked at the data and realized the problem was my feel for the bike. Basically, we made a small adjustment to make me feel more comfortable.”
This is your second MotoGP pole position after Mugello 2022. Which one do you prefer?
"The one at Mugello was more exciting because it was the first, but this one felt more real because it was in dry conditions. I’d say this one."
Did you also get a chance to assess the patch on the asphalt?
“The spot is completely off the racing line; it’s practically impossible to ride over it on the bike. But yes, the problem is there. Let’s hope everything is sorted out by tomorrow and we can have another great race.”
Looking ahead to the GP, what are your thoughts on the tyres?
“We’ll see. Ultimately, we still have limited data to choose the tyre, so it will be important to thoroughly analyze the one used today. Anyway, we’ll try again tomorrow: we have another chance,” he concluded.