One Ducati satellite rider hopes to “annoy” Marc Marquez in MotoGP 2025
“It’s a beautiful opportunity”
Fabio Di Giannantonio says he “can try to annoy” factory Ducati MotoGP riders Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia in 2025 when he jumps onto the GP25.
The VR46 rider has earned the only other factory Ducati being fielded in 2025 outside of the works team, though is yet to try the bike after ending last season early for surgery on his shoulder.
For much of the year, Di Giannantonio was the second-best GP23 rider behind Marquez in the standings and still came out ahead of highly-rated VR46 team-mate Marco Bezzecchi despite missing the final two rounds.
While Di Giannantonio has already stated that he is not setting any specific results targets for 2025, he notes that the lesser expectations on VR46 provides him with an opportunity to “have a lot of fun”.
“It's a beautiful opportunity, that's how it is,” Di Giannantonio said in an interview with GPOne.
“This season on the GP25 will be a beautiful opportunity to become an even better rider.
“It's a responsibility, it's something I've been looking for all my life, but at the same time we are not the 'reds' today, so in reality we can still 'play'.
“The responsibility of being in an official team is different, there you have to win, so I think that kind of responsibility will be especially felt by Pecco and Marc.
“We can have a lot of fun, try to be the outsiders, we can try to annoy them, and this will also give me the opportunity to learn a lot from them by working on their same level.
“So I don't see any negative aspects, but only a great opportunity.
“I'm sorry I didn't get podiums this year, for the team, I would really like to do well to see them celebrate.
“As I often say, however, I don't want to think about the results already, the goal must be to grow and enjoy the experience: enjoy the GP25, go fast, enjoy this moment for which we have sweated, enjoy the privileged relationship with Ducati, and in the end we will draw a line and see how it went.”
