FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO SAYS IT WAS A STRANGE WEEKEND AFTER DUcATI STRUGGLED AT SPIELBERG

Fabio Di Giannantonio’s Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg turned into a frustrating weekend for the VR46 Ducati rider, culminating in a ninth-place finish and a drop in the championship standings. After a qualifying session that offered little sign of a fight for the front, the 27-year-old struggled to get the performance he expected from his Desmosedici throughout the race weekend, ultimately ending the Grand Prix 14.9 seconds behind the winner.

The problems began early. In qualifying, Di Giannantonio could not match the pace at the Red Bull Ring, setting a time that left him 0.695 seconds off pole, which was set by Aprilia factory rider Jorge Martin. That deficit translated into a start from eighth on the grid. In the sprint, he finished tenth and did not score points, arriving 9.2 seconds adrift after 14 laps.

On Sunday, Di Giannantonio managed to improve slightly but not enough to change the overall picture. He crossed the line in ninth, again far from the leading group, and Speedweek reported that he was third-best among Ducati riders behind Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia.

A key theme across the entire weekend was a rear tyre-related issue that Di Giannantonio said he could feel from start to finish. “It was a strange weekend, because from the beginning to the end I was fighting with the rear tyre’s grip,” he said. What made the situation unusual for him was that he typically performs well on low-grip circuits, and he could not understand why the expected traction did not appear. “It’s curious, because normally I always have grip, even when the other Ducati riders complain. In Barcelona I had grip, and in Goiania too, when we ran with the same tyre specification, I had good grip,” he added.

Beyond the tyre, Di Giannantonio also described a lack of confidence when accelerating out of corners. “I was missing the feeling for the throttle, and I couldn’t really sense how to accelerate best out of the corners. That was really strange. I felt like something was missing here; the others worked better,” he said.

In response, his team made changes to the bike’s setup for the Grand Prix with the goal of improving rear-wheel feel. “Overall it was a difficult weekend, but in the morning we changed something to improve the feeling for grip at the rear wheel. That gave us a step forward for the race,” Di Giannantonio explained. He said the adjustment helped early on: “That helped us, and in the first laps I was quite competitive. But then I started having problems again.”

The Austrian result also highlighted a broader Ducati challenge at a track that has long been considered a stronghold for the Desmosedici. Speedweek noted that Ducati suffered a clear setback on what had previously been a “paradise” circuit for the brand. Pedro Acosta won the home race for KTM, while Aprilia riders Jorge Martin, Marco Bezzecchi and Ai Ogura finished second through fourth. The first Ducati after that group came in fifth with Marc Marquez, meaning no Desmosedici reached the podium.

Despite the disappointment, Di Giannantonio insisted he does not believe the weekend reflects a lack of potential. “We currently have some difficulties, but the potential is very high and we are fast,” he said. His message for the next steps was to stay constructive: “We stay positive, because we know we can get back to the front.”

However, the weekend also brought a championship setback. Ai Ogura overtook Di Giannantonio in the standings, leaving the VR46 rider down in fifth place.