Fabio Di Giannantonio defends Pecco Bagnaia after “unfair” Misano MotoGP drama

Fabio Di Giannantonio thinks it was “unfair” for his conversation after the Misano MotoGP with Francesco Bagnaia to be broadcast.

Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio were captured on-camera speaking to each other after the Misano race in the broadcasters’ set.

The topic of conversation was Bagnaia’s struggles on the 2026 Ducati, with Misano seeing one of his most disappointing weekends so far after failing to make it into Q2 and crashing out of the race.

Di Giannantonio suggested to Bagnaia that he could try a different setup, but Bagnaia said that he is unable to by decision of Ducati.

Speaking ahead of the Austrian MotoGP this weekend, Bagnaia was critical of DAZN, the Spanish broadcaster that published the footage, which was subsequently shared on social media by third parties, saying that publishing the footage was “disrespectful”.

Di Giannantonio, also speaking on Thursday at the Red Bull Ring, has jumped to Bagnaia’s defence, saying that the conversation they shared was “completely normal” and that to broadcast it was “a bit unfair” as the subject was a personal one.

“I just, I don't want to say something about this story, because it's not my story, but I can say that us as riders, especially us as Italians, we know each other since a long time, and we always talk about bikes – it's completely normal for us,” Fabio Di Giannantonio said of the interaction between himself and Bagnaia at Misano that was published by DAZN.

“What happened, it was a thing outside the cameras, but apparently it was inside a camera, so I think it was a bit unfair from that part, because, not me but another rider [Bagnaia] was talking about personal things, so sometimes it would be better to respect this and not just trying to get more clicks.”

Di Giannantonio added that the reason he was talking to Bagnaia about his current difficulties with the Ducati is because the two-time champion was one of the more supportive riders in the past whenever it was Di Giannantonio himself who was struggling.

“But apart of that, from my point of view, when I was struggling with the Ducati, I was always talking with Pecco and trying to get as much info as I can, and he was always helping me, trying to give me the best advice to improve,” the VR46 Racing Team rider said.

“When I can, I try to do the same with other riders that I know since a long time, so it was a completely normal chat for us.”

Major tennis tournaments have been criticised in recent times for the amount of cameras around facilities, away from courts, with an aim to capture as much content as possible that could be used on social media. 

A particular example was at the 2026 Australian Open where Coco Gauff was captured by a remote camera in the bowels of the main stadium court smashing her racquet on the floor after losing to Elina Svitolina in the quarter-final. In the aftermath, several players defended Gauff, saying there are too many cameras around facilities at major tournaments and that players need a space where they can let emotions go without those being published online moments later.

Di Giannantonio feels there is a similar problem emerging in MotoGP, and that last weekend’s incident shows that riders cannot speak openly with each other.

“The problem is now that we always have cameras,” he said.

“We have always mixed cameras. We are going in a world where we cannot anymore talk.

“So, for this, I think that journalists [...] should have a sense of limit for the sport. 

“It's like I can be in a pub talking about bikes and I don't have to be worried that somewhere there is a journalist with a mic, because it was a friendly chat. 

“So, for sure it's a thing that we can improve as a sport, also because I think it's not nice for the sport, honestly.”