FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO SAYS HE “LIVES GOOD” AS VR46 DUCATI’S “UNDERWOLF” IN 2026 TITLE FIGHT

VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio says he’s comfortable with his role in the 2026 MotoGP title fight, describing himself as the championship’s “underwolf” rather than an “underdog.” Speaking in an exclusive interview at Silverstone, the Italian framed his current position as a positive pressure rather than a label that holds him back.

Di Giannantonio enters the latest stretch of the season in fourth place, having endured a difficult Aragon weekend that left him 48 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin. Despite that setback, he has spent much of 2026 as Ducati’s leading rider and added a Catalan Grand Prix win to his campaign. That victory came while he was carrying a hand injury after being caught up in the incident involving Alex Marquez.

Asked whether he feels undervalued in MotoGP, Di Giannantonio responded by pointing to his own speed and results. “I think that I have a really great talent; I have really good speed,” he said, adding that without it he wouldn’t have reached the wins and podiums he has already achieved. However, he was careful about how he defines “top rider” status, saying that riders who win championships are the ones who truly fit that description. “And I still don’t have this in the pocket, unfortunately,” he noted, referencing how he had been close in Moto3 and not really in Moto2 before now targeting that breakthrough in MotoGP.

That mindset ties into his “underwolf” comment. “So, it’s good. I live good being the ‘underwolf’ - not the underdog,” Di Giannantonio said. He explained that the underdog narrative can sometimes put him in a position where fans enjoy watching him push hard, potentially beating riders who are seen as favorites. “It’s good [to have] the [high] opinion of the people, but it doesn’t change much for me - I just try to do my maximum.”

His 2026 form has also helped shape his next career move. The rider’s performances have earned him a factory KTM deal for next season, a step up that comes just three years after he faced the threat of losing his place on the grid. Di Giannantonio’s path to this point has included a tough start in 2022 with Gresini, followed by a late 2023 turnaround that included his maiden victory in Qatar.

Di Giannantonio also reflected on how his opportunities came together. By the time he was at Gresini, his place there had already been taken by Marc Marquez, but VR46 offered him a lifeline after Luca Marini moved to Honda. He said his 2024 form helped him secure that chance, along with official factory support from Ducati.

When discussing whether teams should give young riders more time to develop, Di Giannantonio argued that the sport can improve how it supports riders beyond simply chasing immediate outcomes. “For sure,” he said, adding that there isn’t enough focus on understanding how a rider achieves results—or why they don’t. He suggested that MotoGP can do more to examine decisions in the garage and how riders actually ride the bike.

He also stressed that the modern level of competition makes development slower than it used to be. “In this moment of MotoGP where the level is super, super high, it takes time,” he said. Di Giannantonio compared earlier eras—when bikes were more clearly separated into winning, midfield, and back-of-the-pack machines—to today’s tighter margins. “The fifth-place rider was arriving 30 seconds from first. Now, if you arrive 30s from first, you are last,” he explained, concluding that the gap between “bad” and “amazing” riders is far smaller than outsiders might think.

Ultimately, Di Giannantonio’s message was that reaching the very top requires time, extensive garage work, and the right people to build affinity with the bike. “So, it really takes time to be that good,” he said, pointing to the need for both the best team support and the right setup process to reach championship-winning performance.