Fabio di Giannantonio: “Dangerous” move by Alex Marquez, “destroyed my race”
Fabio di Giannantonio’s Qatar MotoGP podium pace undone by contact, penalty and a scary incident with fallen champion Jorge Martin.
An “eventful” Qatar MotoGP saw Fabio di Giannantonio sent spearing off-track after contact from Alex Marquez, receive a penalty for a clash with Joan Mir and clip Jorge Martin when the world champion fell in front of him.
The VR46 Ducati rider got off to a flying start and immediately began mixing it with the front group.
But things unravelled when Alex Marquez made contact in an aggressive attempt to retake third, sending Diggia spearing off-track and down to 21st. Marquez was later handed a long lap penalty for irresponsible riding.
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“An eventful race. My start was really good, I was there fighting for the top, because today I had the pace to make a podium,” said the VR46 rider.
“Then a strange manoeuvre by Alex. A dangerous manoeuvre by Alex.
“It’s a pity because I think that a mistake like this is not great in our level of riders in this championship. It’s a bit on the limit, especially for the penalty that we receive in case of [making] these mistakes.
“I think that we have to work for the future this because at the end, the rider that's completely destroyed my race finished in 7th [6th after a penalty for Maverick Vinales] and I lost any chance of doing a good race.”
Di Giannantonio’s comeback was briefly halted again when he was penalised for contact with Joan Mir and told to surrender a position.
A much bigger scare followed when Martin, whose lap times were dropping off as he entered uncharted second-half race territory on his return from injury, crashed just in front of Diggia on the exit of Turn 12.
The Italian had no chance to avoid Martin as he slid down the track and rode the rest of the grand prix worrying about the Spaniard’s condition. Martin was subsequently diagnosed with eleven fractures to his ribs.
“We had the potential to make a podium, if you look at my pace, it was amazing. But most of all, I'm so happy that Jorge Martin seems [relatively] OK,” he said.
“This is the most important thing because I know how dangerous this sport is. He knows. Everybody knows. And to have him OK today is a great thing.”
While di Giannantonio eventually finished out of the points in 16th, team-mate Franco Morbidelli was promoted to a podium by a post-race penalty for Maverick Vinales.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
