DI GIANNANTONIO SAYS DUCATI MUST WORK HARD TO CLOSE GAP TO APRILIA AFTER SILVERSTONE

Fabio Di Giannantonio says he’s been preparing hard for the second half of the MotoGP season, and the early signs at Silverstone suggested he’s ready to fight at the front again. After the first 11 Grands Prix of 2026, the VR46 rider has been consistently among the top three, collecting points regularly and sitting just 24 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin on the Aprilia.

Di Giannantonio also pointed out that a crash at the Sachsenring likely cost him ground, implying he could have been even closer to the lead without that setback. Still, he arrived at Silverstone with confidence and delivered in practice: he finished FP1 in fifth place, then went to third in MotoGP qualifying, behind the Aprilia duo of Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez. Di Giannantonio noted that he was only four-tenths of a second away from Bezzecchi, underlining how tight the pace was.

On his performance, he described the session feel and grip: “I had a very good feeling, and I had very much grip. I just tried to ride cleanly.” He also addressed tyre wear, saying he didn’t have major issues himself, but that the Aprilia package still looks stronger in that area. “I didn’t have big problems with it, but compared to the Aprilia, yes. They can use the front tyre to save the rear tyre. In that respect, they are ahead of us.”

Di Giannantonio’s comments returned to the broader theme of the season: Aprilia’s competitiveness. “Since the start of the year I’ve been fighting against them—under very different conditions. I’ve seen that compared to us they are a bit better,” he said. He added that the work required is clear: “We have to work hard to get closer to them. You could see it today too: apart from me, only Aprilia were in the top five.”

Finally, he reflected on the challenge of restarting after the roughly four-week summer break at a demanding circuit like Silverstone. “The worst thing of all,” he joked. “I trained so hard all month and I’m, damn it, destroyed.” He explained that gym work doesn’t replicate MotoGP demands: “In the fitness center you don’t use the muscles the way you do on the bike. When you ride a MotoGP bike, it’s completely different.”