Fabio di Giannantonio “didn't know how to escape” Turn 1 Catalunya Sprint clash
Fabio di Giannantonio didn’t know Brad Binder and Joan Mir had crashed in Turn 1 tangle, hunts down leaders Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta.
Fabio di Giannantonio recovered from a first-corner incident to finish within half-a-second of victory in Saturday’s Catalunya MotoGP Sprint.
The VR46 Ducati rider started sixth on the grid after admitting he had been “too aggressive” in qualifying.
Approaching Turn 1, di Giannantonio was caught out by dirty air under braking and dived to the inside of Brad Binder.
The KTM rider crashed, with his machine also collecting Joan Mir.
“We were all braking in the same point, but then when we arrived in the first corner, the aero plays a roles,” di Giannantonio told MotoGP.com.
“I just tried to go in by myself. I didn't feel any touch. So I thought, ‘wow, maybe everybody is safe’.
“Only after the race, I knew that they crashed.
“I'm sorry for them, but on my side, I really didn't know how to escape apart from going in. It was my only place to go.”
The FIM Stewards investigated the incident before ruling no further action was needed.
Finishing the first lap still in sixth, di Giannantonio overtook Jorge Martin and then Johann Zarco to spend much of the race in fourth.
However, he was hunting down the podium trio, passing Raul Fernandez on the penultimate lap before finishing in the wheeltracks of a Alex Marquez-Pedro Acosta victory battle.
“After the first lap it was a great race – a busy race, with a lot to do, trying to overtake, keep positions and recover time to Pedro and Alex. But I had a lot of fun.
“But with this level in MotoGP you can't permit the front guys to take one, two seconds at the beginning because you will never recover.”
di Giannantonio’s best hope was for a battle between the leaders.
“I was expecting a little bit of fight [between them] so I could be closer, but then they were clever at the end to don't ruin everything!” he smiled.
“But from my side, it was just, ‘please, one more lap, one more lap’. But we had a lot of fun in the front.
“I think we have a great pace on used tyres with a lot of laps, so we can be ready on that side.
“We must start in a good place. We must be with clear air in the front and then try to be as close as possible to the top guys to play our cards.”
di Giannantonio starts Sunday's race one point behind Acosta for third in the world championship.
Team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who qualified on the front row with the satellite spec GP25, finished in seventh place.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
