Why Fabio Di Giannantonio’s new MotoGP deal should serve as a cautionary tale

It is one of the least surprising announcements of the 2025 MotoGP rider market, after Ducati’s Davide Tardozzi gave the game away during the British Grand Prix.

But Fabio Di Giannantonio’s two-year contract with the Italian marque to race a full factory bike at VR46 is a welcome move.

The 25-year-old’s move to MotoGP in 2022 with the Gresini squad was something late team owner Fausto had long had in his plans, which kept the Italian out of Aprilia’s hands when it was scrabbling around for options for the 2021 season.

Even after Fausto Gresini’s tragic death early in 2021, his wishes to promote Di Giannantonio were honoured by the team. But his rookie season wasn’t anything to write home about, Di Giannantonio scoring just 24 points, while a lacklustre first half to the 2023 campaign already plunged his MotoGP career into doubt even before Marc Marquez’s shock links to the squad came about.

Fourteen rounds into 2023, Di Giannantonio sat on just 54 points. Then began an incredible run of form that saw him break into the top six for the first time, score a maiden podium and then take a famous first victory in the Qatar GP while his career still hung in the balance.

Such was his form in the back half of the 2023 season that Di Giannantonio was the third-highest scorer behind only world champion Francesco Bagnaia and title runner-up Jorge Martin. Had it not been for a tyre pressure penalty denying him a podium in Valencia, he would have ended up second of that trio.

Though there were links to Honda, Di Giannantonio found sanctuary with Valentino Rossi’s squad as Luca Marini’s replacement following his move to HRC.

Going up against Marco Bezzecchi, who was third in the 2023 standings, not much hope was given for Di Giannantonio to be able to outpace his highly-rated team-mate. But after 10 rounds of the 2024 campaign, Bezzecchi is being well and truly trounced.

Di Giannantonio is currently eighth in the standings on 104 points. At a current points-per-round pace of 10.4, he is on course to far exceed his 2023 haul of 151. Team-mate Bezzecchi, who has struggled to get on top of the GP23’s braking characteristics, has amassed just 61 points at this stage of the year.

Bezzecchi does have a podium in hand over Di Giannantonio, but has only outscored him across a weekend twice, speaking to the consistency the latter has found on that package. On top of this, he is the second-best GP23 rider behind only Marc Marquez - which is no mean feat.

Much of Di Giannantonio’s form can be attributed to his year working with crew chief Frankie Carchedi at Gresini last year. World champion with Joan Mir at Suzuki in 2020, Carchedi - who told this writer last year that his rider had a very different set-up to the other Ducati riders - helped get Di Giannantonio to be stronger under braking to get closer to the other Desmosedici riders while also ensuring he could exploit his strength of driving well out of corners.

At VR46, Di Giannantonio has been welcomed into that fold despite being an ‘outsider’ as far as Rossi’s Academy is concerned and has continued to grow as a rider working with David Munoz - who will move to Alex Rins’ garage at Yamaha in 2025 - as crew chief.

Such has been Di Giannantonio’s form this season that he had no shortage of interest, with Fabio Quartararo hyping him up as a preferred option for a Pramac Yamaha seat prior to the summer break.

Plan A for Di Giannantonio was to remain with VR46 and secure a factory Ducati, which has come to pass. And it’s high praise from the Italian marque, as it scales back its factory offering to just three riders for 2025.

Naturally, there will be more expectation on Di Giannantonio’s shoulders now to start regularly muscling in on the podium battle on the GP25. He’s proven, though, that his resolve is strong and this won’t be an opportunity he will let pass by.

While his has been a story many have likened to something of a fairytale, it cannot be forgotten that this was a rider harbouring race-winning potential who was almost left without a ride even after he’d breached the top step of the podium.

‘What-ifs’ don’t count for much in motorsport and your most recent results are largely what you are going to be judged by. But Di Giannantonio’s MotoGP journey so far is proof that young riders need to be given more time to adapt. Not everyone stepping up from Moto2 is going to be as instantly brilliant as a Pedro Acosta or a Fabio Quartararo.

Looking at the crop of rookies Di Giannantonio stepped up with in 2022, Remy Gardner - then reigning Moto2 champion - had his MotoGP hopes smashed after just half a season, while Darryn Binder’s ill-fated Moto3-to-MotoGP step was a one-and-done job. While his promotion with RNF was financially motivated, and his axing was conveniently timed with Aprilia taking over from Yamaha as its satellite partner, he still had no chance to adapt.

Raul Fernandez, who also stepped up to MotoGP with Di Giannantonio, was arguably as deserving of an extended stay in the premier class midway through 2023 as the Italian was. But the cards fell for him that his contract with Aprilia after his sole year with KTM was for two seasons, and flashes of speed in 2024 as well as the backing from Davide Brivio has earned him two more years with Trackhouse on a factory Aprilia.

Without question, Di Giannantonio’s new Ducati contract with VR46 is wholly deserved. Now let it serve as a lesson to an impatient mindset that has prevailed for too long in MotoGP…