Ducati underdog outlines “not fantastic” part of his time in MotoGP so far
Di Giannantonio will have his fourth new crew chief in as many years in 2025
VR46 Ducati MotoGP rider Fabio Di Giannantonio says the fact he will be working with a fourth new crew chief in as many years in 2025 is “not fantastic”.
Di Giannantonio made his debut in the premier class with Gresini in 2022, working with rookie crew chief Donatello Giovanotti.
For 2023, Di Giannantonio was partnered with world champion crew chief Frankie Carchedi, which proved vital for the Italian as it allowed him to make the step to becoming a grand prix winner.
Read more: Who are MotoGP's 2025 crew chiefs
With VR46 throwing him a career lifeline for 2024, Di Giannantonio was paired with former Valentino Rossi crew chief David Munoz as Carchedi remained at Gresini with Marc Marquez.
For 2025, when he takes on a works Ducati at VR46, Di Giannantonio will work with Massimo Branchini, who was Franco Morbidelli’s crew chief at Pramac this year.
“It’s not the best thing to have in a career, to change four crew chiefs… well, I think more [than that] in the last years,” he said.
“I had two in Moto2, MotoGP [I’ll have had four]. So, it’s like my sixth crew chief in five years. So, this is not fantastic.
“But I think my new staff will be amazing also, because my electronics guy has just become world champion with Jorge Martin.
“And Massimo Branchini is a person that I really give a lot of credit to because he has been fantastic in Moto2, and also in MotoGP with Franky he did an incredible job.
“I always wanted to work with him, so I think we will have strong staff this time.
“And also a two-year deal, so it will be two years the same people, the same staff and this will be a big step in my career because I can work in the same path for two years.
“So, this will be really good.”
Di Giannantonio says consistency in who your crew chief is makes understanding a bike from year to year better, noting that the likes of Francesco Bagnaia got to the level he is at now in large part because of this.
“It’s always better, because when you arrive into the next year with the same bike, same staff, you can compare what you did the last year with the bike and the job you have done to improve,” he added.
“If not, every time you have to start from zero, because you don’t know the intentions of a modification; you miss something.
“If you see now, Pecco is at an incredible level because he is a great rider, but also because he has had the same bike and same staff for many years.
“In the end, when you have the same bike, same package for many years you can start to work on details and you can improve much more compared to if you change a lot of things.”
