FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO SAYS AUSTRIAN SPRINT REAR-GRIP PROBLEMS ARE “COMPLETELY UNUSUAL”

Fabio Di Giannantonio described his Austrian MotoGP Sprint as a “completely unusual” weekend after finishing 10th and failing to score. Speaking after the shorter race at the Red Bull Ring, the VR46 Racing Team rider said the problem wasn’t just a momentary lack of speed, but a persistent struggle to find rear grip across the whole session.

Di Giannantonio pointed to the rear tyre as a key factor. He noted that the Red Bull Ring is one of the few venues on the MotoGP calendar—along with Buriram, Goiania and Mandalika—where Michelin uses a harder-construction rear tyre intended to cope with excessive heat build-up. According to Di Giannantonio, the construction being used in Austria is the same one that was run in Brazil earlier in the year, where he had strong results, finishing second in the Sprint and third in the grand prix.

Given that background, he said it felt strange to suddenly lose traction at the rear. “It’s quite strange this weekend,” Di Giannantonio said. He explained that while he has heard other Ducati riders complain about grip, his own experience has been different from what he typically associates with low-grip conditions. “I want to continue to be positive and stay focused, for sure, but the truth is that we are struggling so much with rear grip all weekend long,” he said. “It’s normal, I’m hearing all the riders from Ducati – but from my side, it’s completely unusual.”

The Italian added that he usually expects to find more traction when others struggle. “When everybody complains about grip, I’m usually the guy that says there’s more grip on track,” he said, citing Barcelona as an example where he “always had grip.” He also referenced Goiania, where he said he had the same casing and “same level of grip,” reinforcing his belief that the tyre should not have produced such a drastic change in feel.

Di Giannantonio said the sensation he’s missing is specifically tied to acceleration and throttle connection. “I’m really struggling to get the connection with the throttle, really struggling to understand where is the grip to have a good acceleration. It’s strange,” he said. He acknowledged that something is missing in the setup and that other riders are currently ahead. “For sure I’m missing something, for sure we have to work better, and for sure the others are better than us at the moment,” he added.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s full-distance race, Di Giannantonio said he will focus on understanding what needs to change. “I will do everything possible to try to understand what to improve,” he said. He also pointed to past weekends where the team improved after the first day, saying, “We did some races where we improved from the second day to the third.”

He closed by stressing the need for progress before the race is over. “For sure it's never easy but I will try. For sure we must, we must improve something or we must try to improve for tomorrow.”