Marc Marquez? “I don’t see him as an alien anymore”
Insight into how a fellow Ducati GP23 rider views Marc Marquez on-track
Marc Marquez is no longer seen as an “alien” by Fabio di Giannantonio.
Marquez enters this weekend’s French MotoGP at Le Mans hopeful of a first victory on a Ducati, after insisting his adaptation to a new bike is complete.
But Di Giannantonio, who rides the same GP23 Ducati as Marquez, has suggested that the eight-time world champion is not striking fear into his rivals anymore.
VR46’s Di Giannantonio told Motosprint that he notices how Gresini’s Marquez rides the Ducati when on-track together.
“Yes, it's always Marc in his riding style,” he said.
“He enters corners very strongly, he is very aggressive.
“He rides very well and goes very fast.
“I feel like I'm at an excellent level and while maybe in my debut in MotoGP I saw him a little more from afar, now I no longer see him as an alien.
“Obviously I have great respect for him because he is a champion and when he rides he has his magic, but I don't see him as unattainable.
“I see him as a rival and even when I study him I don't see big differences."
Di Giannantonio - who was replaced at Gresini by Marquez last year, before finding his career-best form - has benefitted from an extra two years of adaptation to the Ducati.
He sees similarities with how Marquez uses his new machinery.
“The very particular thing is that I see from the data that we use gas in a very, very similar way,” he said.
“It's something that sometimes amazes me.
“Being close to the guidance of an eight-time world champion is not bad."
Marquez has won three grands prix at Le Mans but arrives for his Ducati debut at the track in France needing to make up ground in the championship fight.
He is sixth in the MotoGP standings, 32 points behind leader Jorge Martin.
But factory Ducati duo Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini are also ahead of Marquez.
This weekend’s French MotoGP also comes with the added storyline of the 2025 rider market.
Ducati are considering their big decision of who to pair with Bagnaia in their ‘25 factory team.
Marquez, Bastianini and Martin are the contenders.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
