Di Giannantonio: Ducati Now Only Second Force in MotoGP, Aprilia Leads

Fabio Di Giannantonio left Silverstone with a bitter taste. Sixth place in the British Grand Prix isn't a bad result, but the way the race unfolded made him realize: Ducati is no longer the main benchmark in MotoGP. The fastest now? Aprilia, and that's no longer a surprise.

The Ducati rider admitted he pushed his bike to the limit. He tried to manage the rear tire for the final laps, and fans cheered when he closed in on Pedro Acosta in the fight for fifth. But the gap was still enough to leave him frustrated.

“I did the best I could. I tried to manage the rear tire for the end and I did a good job, but I destroyed the front. That's exactly what's been happening since the start of the season. I've been saying for a long time we need to improve our package: even though it's very good, it's not enough to beat Aprilia,” he said, as reported by Motosan.es.

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Di Giannantonio described the situation as a blanket that's too short. “Right now the blanket is short: if we push too hard with the front, we run out of tire, and vice versa with the rear. It's a difficult situation to manage. Today we are the second force in the championship, the first is Aprilia. We knew this circuit would be fantastic for them, but the difference was big,” he complained.

However, he isn't just complaining. Di Giannantonio hopes Ducati can close the gap. “I hope so, really. Aprilia started doing a great job from the second half of last season and now you can see their four riders always up front. We only make some appearances among them, but at the moment we are a step behind.”

Interestingly, he also highlighted Marc Marquez's performance, who managed to stay close to the Aprilias at the start. “Marc managed to stay close to the Aprilias at the start and finished the race near me. That was the real level,” he said.

Di Giannantonio also spoke about the chaotic start due to an incident at the first corner. “I lost a bit of concentration at the first corner: I saw a lot of sparks, thought there was a crash, and lost positions.” Despite that, he remains clear-headed about the future. “I feel the gap we have now doesn't allow us to enter the fight, so we have to look for something more.”