Fabio di Giannantonio “fired up” for final VR46 home MotoGP at Misano
Fabio di Giannantonio is “fired up” for what will be his final home MotoGP appearance with VR46 before joining factory KTM in 2027.
Fabio di Giannantonio will make his final appearance for the local VR46 team at this weekend’s Misano MotoGP.
After three seasons with VR46, highlighted by victory at Catalunya this year, Di Giannantonio will depart for the factory KTM team in 2027.
A strong result at Misano, located just 13km from VR46’s Tavullia base, would not only provide a fitting farewell but also halt di Giannantonio’s slide in the world championship standings.
The Italian has lost ground to title leader Jorge Martin at the last four events and hasn’t stood on the Sunday podium since his Barcelona victory.
That has left di Giannantonio fourth in the standings, 48 points from the top, while reigning champion Marc Marquez has taken over as Ducati’s leading contender.
But with nine rounds still planned, 333 points remain available across his remaining VR46 appearances.
“We’re really fired up for Misano!” di Giannantonio said. “It’s our home race, and we have to push as hard as possible.
“Racing in front of our home crowd, with family and friends here, always gives you that extra motivation to do even better.
“We arrive in Misano with some very good data from last year, when we were really strong.
“That will certainly make our job easier, but the feedback we got from the Aragon weekend could also be useful, even though it wasn’t an easy one.
“We’re ready and can’t wait to race in front of our home crowd.”
di Giannantonio finished third in last year’s Misano Sprint, then fifth, just behind team-mate Franco Morbidelli, in the grand prix.
Morbidelli will be making his final VR46 and MotoGP appearance at Misano, ahead of a move to WorldSBK in 2027.
"Misano is always amazing, the atmosphere is magical and the home crowd is always special," Morbidelli said.
"The goal will be to have a clean weekend. It will be important to get the most out of everything and do a great job because, together with Brazil, this is the most important race of the year for me.”
VR46 will have an all-new rider line-up of Fermin Aldeguer and the TBC Nicolo Bulega for 2027.
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.
