RiderTua.com – It may be that Fabio di Giannantonio finished the pre-season MotoGP test in Qatar in only 8th place on the timesheet, but his long-term pace was unmatched by all the riders except Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo). The newcomer to the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team was also among the best during the sprint race simulation at the previous Sepang test, having ridden the Desmosedici GP23 like a ‘duck to water’.
However, the winner of the Qatar GP last November played down the prospect of achieving two consecutive wins in Qatar in the season-opening race this weekend. Diggia lost 0.1 seconds in the time attack. “But in my opinion, it was more. But in the sprint simulation, I did a pretty good job. I think I was one of the fastest. We could be in the top 5 now,” said Diggia.
Fabio di Giannantonio: Factory Riders Have ‘Something’ More
Fabio di Giannantonio insists he welcomes the pressure of being a challenger for wins but insists the factory GP24 bike has ‘something’ more. “I like this kind of pressure. But we also have to be realistic. Right now, it seems like the factory riders have ‘something’ more. They really look at their best performance. They are super strong, especially Pecco,” said the Italian rider.
Diggia added, “But anyway, I think we are in a good position where we can compete for the podium at the moment. For sure I will try, so let’s see.”
Pre-season testing is over, with GP24 taking 1st and 2nd place thanks to defending champion Pecco Bagnaia and teammate Enea Bastianini. Valentino Rossi’s pupil was also the fastest at the Sepang test, and managed to break the all-time lap record.
Diggia’s team-mate and multi-race winner, Marco Bezzecchi was in 10th place at the end of the test after taking longer to adapt to the GP23. The Ducati Lenovo and Pramac teams are equipped with GP24s, while the Gresini and VR46 teams use GP23s which are 1 year old.
