‘I forgot the rules’ - Di Giannantonio on Assen MotoGP penalty in Marc Marquez battle

Fabio Di Giannantonio admits his penalty for cutting the last chicane in a battle with Marc Marquez in the MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix was correct because he forgot the rules.

The VR46 Ducati rider went for a late lunge on the inside of Marc Marquez at Assen’s final chicane on lap 20 of 26, which forced the reigning world champion to skip through the gravel.

But Fabio Di Giannantonio also failed to make the corner, running through the blue-painted section beyond track limits.

As he didn’t cede a second in lap time, the FIM stewards gave Di Giannantonio a long lap penalty.

The Italian admits he “didn’t remember the regulation” for shortcutting the chicane, though was initially angry when the penalty was issued.

“In that moment, yes,” he replied when asked if he was upset about the long lap punishment.

“I expected a penalty because I cut the chicane, but I didn’t remember the regulations, honestly; I was busy!

“When it came in, I was like, ‘Ah, for what?’ But then, ‘Ah, maybe yeah’.

“My mistake for never trying the long lap before during the weekend, which I always do at least one time.

“This time I didn’t, and I got it in the race.

“For this, I was not quite sure how to make it well. But in the end, I think it was acceptable; I cut the chicane. So, it was OK.”

Di Giannantonio didn’t lose much time when he served his penalty, and eventually overhauled Marquez on the penultimate lap to move up to fifth, before passing Alex Marquez for fourth.

Finishing as top Ducati, Di Giannantonio is now just 16 points off of the championship lead.

The incident between himself and Marc Marquez was reminiscent of a similar overtake involving the latter and Valentino Rossi in 2015.

On that day, Rossi was the one who was forced across the gravel, which allowed him to keep the lead and win the grand prix.

Di Giannantonio - riding for Rossi’s team - said of the similarities: “When I watched again the images, it was super interesting to see again the similarities.

“But sometimes these kinds of things happen. Also, sometimes I read something with the dates and the hours, but I think it was a full coincidence.”