Fabio Di Giannantonio went “all in” for “dream” Italian MotoGP podium

Third place for Fabio Di Giannantonio at the ninth round of the 2025 MotoGP World Championship marked his first at an Italian Grand Prix in the premier class, something he says has “been a dream”.

Starting from the third row, Di Giannantonio’s charge to the podium was about endurance, the Italian making his move for third on the penultimate lap having been almost two seconds adrift of the podium battle after the opening 10 laps.

Di Giannantonio said afterwards that the result had been the realisation of a dream he’d had since watching the likes of Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi as a child, as well as redemption for what he felt was a missed opportunity to be on the podium in the Sprint.

“It’s been a dream to be on this podium since I was a kid; watching Vale [Valentino Rossi], Capirex [Loris Capirossi], or Max [Biaggi] being on the podium with all the people [below] – it was a dream,” Fabio Di Giannantonio MotoGP.com’s After the Flag show following the Mugello race.

“I think we have this moment, this tradition here in Mugello that is unbelievable to have the fans on the straight and in the end it’s been a dream. I worked hard for it.

“Luckily, we were able to make a big step in the Aragon test to improve the bike and be fast this weekend.

“Yesterday, I saw that we had a really good potential in the Sprint; for this I was happy but also not that happy because I wanted the podium also yesterday.

“But today I went all-in, especially the last seven or eight laps. I was watching P4 on the pit board and I said ‘No, in Mugello not P4, P3 or nothing.’

“One of my mechanics when I was in Moto3 was like ‘Champagne or gravel,’ and today was all-in.”

Later, in the post-race press conference, the VR46 Racing rider added: “It’s fantastic for me, for us, for the way that we are coming back to the top form that we lost in the last few GPs.

“It also gives us a super motivation for the next races, we must continue like this and I want to continue to close the gap to these guys in front.”

Di Giannantonio spent much of the race in fourth place, but was able to catch Francesco Bagnaia at the end of the race and pass him for third on the penultimate lap on the change of direction between turns six and seven.

“I saw Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] struggling a little bit, I saw Pecco also struggling because he was doing like ‘elastic’ with Alex [Marquez] – when you are like this you are not that strong to put your rhythm,” Di Giannantonio explained.

“So, I think he was struggling a bit with the front, but still he was really fast and strong on the braking; so I tried to use the rear as much as possible to recover and at the end I saw him a little more relaxed and I said ‘Now is the time.’

“We did it, so that’s really good for me.”

Victory potential?

Di Giannantonio was pleased with his podium, but he still had hints of frustration about his qualifying, feeling that he could’ve potentially challenged for a second MotoGP victory if he started on the front two rows.

“I don’t want to say yes [I could win] for sure, because with ‘if’ and ‘but’ you don’t go [anywhere],” he said on After the Flag.

“Marc [Marquez] here – for sure he won here, so he was fantastic – has always struggled a little bit with the front, with the right corners. Also in the analysis we have in Ducati he was struggling with the front.

“So, maybe. It’s just a maybe.

“If I was a little closer, I could try, but I don’t live with ‘if’ and ‘but’, I want to live in the present and we did a podium so that’s great.”

In the press conference, the Italian added: “My race overall has been long because as always we don’t do a super qualifying. So, now we say ‘With a couple more laps, maybe I could catch Alex [Marquez].’

“But the true thing is that I have to start more in front, I have to start [at least] in the first two rows if I want to fight with them because for sure you do a super comeback, you push the bike, you push yourself to the limit, but it’s not the way to win the race.

“At the end, when you want to fight with Alex when he’s in top form or with Marc when he’s winning races, you have to start at least with them. We need to improve this.”