Fabio Di Gianantonio came into the spotlight at the Sachsenring, setting the third fastest time in pre-qualifying and immediately setting his sights on Marc Marquez’s benchmark pace. “Marc is the favourite, tomorrow I think he will break my record. This is the most consistent and predictable Ducati, but also the most competitive,” Di Gianantonio declared after a relentless Friday, displaying both his confidence and the tremendous performance of the VR46 Ducati.
After finishing fourth in Assen, Di Giannantonio was enthusiastic about his progress in Germany. “We’ve gone from wooden medals to bronze!” he quipped considering his rapid rise into the top three. Their performance was particularly highlighted by the impressive stability on the tires used during race-speed simulations. “We are taking steps,” the Italian insisted. “I’m happy today because we did a really good job, especially on the race tyres. This afternoon, even on the used tyres, I was still lapping in the low 1:21 seconds, which is a good sign. We also managed a solid time attack. It’s true, we still have a little short to reach Mark’s time and even my time from last year, but today’s goal was to go straight into Q2 and we achieved it.”
Di Giannantonio reported that his fastest lap came on his fifth or sixth circuit, using the previously used front soft and a new rear, which maximized grip while keeping track temperatures manageable. “When the temperatures get too high, the tires start slipping more. To be honest, I think tomorrow Mark will definitely beat that time. Other people will be close too. Maybe we’ll try to get there ourselves. Today was a little more complicated for me, but last year’s 1:19.0 was a really great lap for those conditions.”
The Italian reiterated his growing confidence with the 2024 Ducati package. “It’s the most consistent, the most predictable. I’m enjoying it the most and I can go faster with it, so it’s also the most competitive. Maybe in 2023 and even this year I felt great, even if the bike was lousy, because the GP23 was a great bike. But it’s the fastest and in the end, you always choose the bike that sets the best time.”
Despite his strong performance, Di Giannantonio exposed Marquez’s dominance, particularly through the crucial T4 sector. “That makes a huge difference in T4, especially compared to me. I still struggle there, so I need to study it well and improve for tomorrow. But we are doing a good job and we have to be happy with our position.”
Track conditions also came under scrutiny, particularly at Turn 3. “It seems you can’t use the inside curb anymore. Partly because the curb is slippery and partly because of a bump. When you hit it, the front stops, so you have to pay attention and take a wider line. Riding on it helped set up Turns 4 and 5 better, but overall, it doesn’t change the lap much, just costs a few thousandths.”
Meanwhile, Friday was a story of mixed fortunes for Franco Morbidelli, as he earned a second quarter straight spot with the tenth fastest time, but he received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Pedro Acosta during pre-qualifying. “I have already seen Simon Crufer: three grid places penalties,” Morbidelli confirmed. “I was just coming out of the pits, starting my race and pushing 100%. Then Pedro came even faster. I was already at the limit, but he was really fast, so it felt like I held him off. In fact, I was pushing too.”
Despite the fine, Morbidelli insisted the day was full of positives. “Getting straight into Q2 meant we went really fast. How I felt on the bike, it’s the result that really makes me happy. We didn’t have a good start this morning, there were some problems, but we solved them with good work during the day. In the end, it was definitely a positive Friday.”
Morbidelli also acknowledged that the Sachsenring’s left-hand layout suits his style, saying, “This is a track where I have always been good. There are a lot of left-hand corners here and they come quite naturally to me. In Assen I was very disappointed because on Friday we just missed out on 26 thousand in Q2. Today we fell behind by 13 thousand. In the end, it takes very little to make a rider happy or sad.”
