Fabio Di Giannantonio identifies area for Ducati to improve 2026 MotoGP bike

After a season marred by inconsistency, Fabio Di Giannantonio is clear about what needs to be improved on the 2026 Ducati MotoGP bike.

The Italian has been able to battle for podiums at times this year, but on other occasions has struggled to be in the top-six, and in Brno was unable to score a point.

His difficulties have been overshadowed by those of Francesco Bagnaia, but Di Giannantonio’s up-and-down pattern this year has been comparable to his compatriot’s.

Looking to next year, it is front feeling that Di Giannantonio wants to find more of in the 2026 version of the Desmosedici GP.

“The area we have to work is on the front because the bike is a super-fast bike but we have to improve the front to have a more sincere feeling where we can push,” Fabio Di Giannantonio said on Thursday at the Valencia MotoGP.

“The MotoGP bike has a super-high potential, you can really go very fast, but if you don’t feel it sometimes it’s difficult to extract the maximum potential.”

Di Giannantonio added that the poor front feeling he finds on the 2025 Desmosedici makes it difficult to find speed during a weekend when riding naturally is not generating lap time.

“Let’s say that the general feeling is there is low feeling on the front,” he explained.

“So, when you go fast in a natural way, everything comes easier. 

“When you are not super-fast in a natural way and you have to find the speed from the bike, from the trust of the bike, it’s really tough this year because you don’t get that feeling.”

“Solid” Friday

If Di Giannantonio’s MotoGP season has been one of inconsistency, it was a higher moment for him at the start of the Valencia weekend, finishing seventh in Practice to advance directly to Q2.

Di Giannantonio was also pleased with his pace on used tyres, and felt that he had more to give over one lap.

“It’s been a solid day,” he said after Practice on Friday. 

“Race pace was pretty good today, we were quite strong with the race tyres. 

“Also, the time attack was good at the end; it was not the best lap of my life because I think I left a few tenths here and there in a few corners, but it was enough to be inside Q2. So, that’s good.”

Despite the good start in Valencia, Di Giannantonio is anxious to see if that positive feeling is still there on Saturday.

“We took what was good from two years ago that was the last time that we arrived here and it seems that the bike is working quite good,” the VR46 Racing Team rider said.

“I’m always a bit scared from Friday, because we experienced many times that the feeling from Friday to Saturday is changing, but I’m confident this time that we will be good also tomorrow.”