Luca Marini jokes Diggia “hates me” after Misano MotoGP battle
Luca Marini joked Fabio di Giannantonio “hates me” after defending fiercely against the Ducati rider during their Misano MotoGP battle.
Luca Marini joked that Fabio di Giannantonio “hates me” after he “gave everything” to keep the VR46 Ducati rider behind in their home Misano MotoGP.
Marini’s defence held until the closing laps, when a rear-tyre vibration left him “with no weapons” and he lost out to both di Giannantonio and Tech3 KTM’s Enea Bastianini.
Nonetheless, Marini was the only Honda rider to even reach the finish, taking the chequered flag just ahead of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder.
“Well, I would be happier with a seventh place,” Marini said afterwards. “I gave everything to [keep] behind Diggia. For sure he hates me! Because we did a really, really bad race, I was closing everything for 15 laps. But this was the only way to keep him behind.”
di Giannantonio: "It was super fair"
Told of Marini’s words, di Giannantonio responded: “No, no! He was doing his best. For sure, for him and Honda, it's super important to do a good spot, and also to keep behind a Ducati.
“But on my side, I was really without any weapons [due to a brake issue], so I was waiting for a mistake from him. He was riding incredibly well. I was seeing him pushing a lot. Me, I was like, "Oh, I can be faster, but I can't be faster!" So no, it was super fair, honestly.”
Marini was eventually left “without weapons” himself by the rear-tyre issue.
“Eight laps to the end, I started to have a big vibration in the rear tyre, because it had spun on the rim. So I couldn't lean anymore because of the vibration. I kept fighting a little bit, but then [Diggia] overtook me easily, and also Enea,” Marini explained.
“I had no more weapons. I couldn't do anything. But anyway, really happy for the weekend, because it was a really strong one. Every time faster than my teammates, and this is the best that I can do.”
The Italian felt Misano’s high-grip surface, hot conditions and the immense power of the 1000cc prototypes had contributed to the tyre moving on the rim.
“We can't complain about the tyres, because we are asking a lot of them,” he said.
“It's just that we need to work better with the package that we have, and of course, I was also asking a lot from the rear tyre, trying to catch Raul and to create a gap to the guys behind.
“So it's something that can happen.”
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.
