Before the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM, Fabio Di Giannantonio had never scored a World Championship point. The Italian rookie was learning his way in the World Championship and had twice finished in 17th and was clearly getting faster and faster with each round. From 16th on the grid the Gresini Racing Moto3 man embedded himself in the leading group and picked his way forward, surprising many as he managed to lead on multiple occasions. ‘Diggia’ held his own amongst the more experienced riders and primed himself for the final run to the line, he may have been a rookie but even he knew the slipstream would be make or break.
A stroke of genius saw Di Giannantonio hold onto fourth as he began the run to the line, perfectly positioning himself to get the most out of the slipstream. Victory slipped through his fingers by 0.038s but the Italian was delighted to take his debut podium finish on home turf and in just his seventh Grand Prix start. The weekend couldn’t have gone much better and Di Giannantonio can now head into the one-day post-race test in Mugello with renewed confidence, ready to attack the rest of the season. His first 20 points put him in 19th.
Fabio Di Giannantonio: “I still can hardly believe it! Racing in the World Championship has always been a dream, so getting my first podium here in Mugello, in my home race, is something incredible! It was a great race, in which we battled right from the start: I had a pretty good start, then when I was in the leading group I tried to stay calm for a few laps. At a certain point, however, I recovered some positions and I said to myself that I could also make one lap in front of everyone, so at the braking of the first corner I took the lead. Since then it has been a constant battle, in fact I also have some signs on my leathers, but it was very funny! Because of the slipstreams we were coming very fast at the end of the straight and consequently it was not easy to stop the bike entering the first corner; in the last lap I went a bit wide, nevertheless I was able not to lose too much ground. In the end, before the last corner, I gave my best to maintain the fourth position before the final straight, because I knew it would be a good position for the sprint. I did it and, taking a fantastic second place. What a day!”