Di Giannantonio: Ducati Now MotoGP's 'Second Power' After Silverstone

Fabio Di Giannantonio has delivered a stark assessment of Ducati's current standing in MotoGP, calling the Desmosedici "the second power" after Aprilia's dominant display at Silverstone.

The British round was a statement of intent from Aprilia, whose riders occupied the top four in the Sprint until Raul Fernandez crashed, and repeated the feat in the main race before Ai Ogura made a mistake. Without those errors, it would have been a clean sweep.

Aprilia had started 2026 strongly, but Marc Marquez had beaten them three times in four races before the summer break, suggesting they had lost some momentum. Silverstone proved otherwise, with the Noale factory reasserting its dominance in emphatic fashion.

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Alex Marquez had already admitted after the Sprint that fighting the Aprilias on Sunday would be "impossible." Di Giannantonio, who finished behind the leading group, echoed that sentiment and pointed to a deeper issue with the Ducati package.

"I did the maximum that I thought that I could do, honestly," said Di Giannantonio. "I tried to save as much as I could the rear [tyre] for the end and I did a good job for the rear, but doing it I destroyed the front tyre. But it's exactly what's happening in every race since the beginning of the year."

He explained the delicate balancing act required to manage the Desmosedici's tyres: "If we push too much with the front, then we finish the front and our race is finished. If we, to make the front do the things that it should do, we use too much the rear then. So it's really difficult to manage it."

With 10 races remaining in 2026, Di Giannantonio hopes Ducati can close the gap. "I really wish that we can improve," he said. "Aprilias are doing a great job since this time of last year, and now you can see easily that the four riders are there constantly, and we do some appearances inside [those positions]. But at the moment we are a step back, that is the clear truth."