WIND GUST NEARLY UNSEATED DI GIANNANTONIO IN PHILLIP ISLAND SPRINT

Fabio Di Giannantonio turned a wind-battered start into a podium finish in Saturday’s Australian Grand Prix sprint, recovering to third place and helping Ducati secure the top three positions. The VR46 rider was caught by a gust on the opening lap and dropped down the order, but later found himself battling LCR Honda rookie Diogo Moreira.

Di Giannantonio said Moreira repeatedly fought back whenever he was passed. After overtaking him at Turn 1, the Italian tried to signal for the rookie to stay behind so they could avoid losing time. Phillip Island’s gusts made the gesture perilous.

“I nearly killed myself trying to signal to him, with the wind,” Di Giannantonio recalled in a video shared by MotoGP. He added that Moreira was “smart” to keep attacking, describing the rookie as someone who “gives everything” in a sprint. “Whenever you pass him, he always gets you back,” he said. “Even if he’s a second slower, he’ll pass you again.”

The incident came during a race in which Di Giannantonio showed strong pace in the closing stages. He believed he might have challenged the leading Marquez brothers had the sprint lasted longer, while acknowledging that Marc Marquez may have been conserving his speed after learning Jorge Martin had retired.

“For sure, I was having a great race, but I was pushing,” Di Giannantonio said. He thought he and Marc had “more or less the same pace” and suggested that “in a longer race it could have maybe been a big fight.”