Ducati rider "lucky to not crash" after scary tyre issue in Indonesia MotoGP

Fabio di Giannantonio has explained why he suddenly lost pace midway through the Indonesian MotoGP.

The VR46 rider had been enjoying his best weekend since the summer break, qualifying on the front row as the top Ducati before finishing third in the Sprint.

After dropping to sixth in the early stages of the Grand Prix, di Giannantonio was one of the fastest riders on track on lap 12 of 27.

However, a big front lock at Turn 10 was followed by major front-end vibrations, and he finished the race with “a hole in the tyre”.

"Massive lock"

“The front tyre started to destroy itself and we got massive vibrations, we were super lucky to not crash and finish the race,” di Giannantonio said.

“We discovered there was a hole in the front tyre.”

The Italian, riding in a special Pertamina livery, added that there had been no warning before the problem struck.

“Absolutely not. I was there doing my rhythm, with calm, because I knew the race was long.

“So I said, ‘OK, now it's time to push, it's time to do 1'30.2, 1'30.2’, and that's when in Turn 10 I got a massive lock on the front and after that, my race was finished.”

di Giannantonio dropped back to eighth place by the chequered flag, but insisted there were positives to take.

“I think it has been one of the best weekends of this year. Front row, then yesterday the podium with these Aprilias that are so strong," he said.

“I think we really showed good speed again.  So I'm really happy.

“We have just had this issue with the front tyre in the race, but it's part of the game, so we must be proud [overall].”

di Giannantonio remains sixth in the World Championship, between the Trackhouse Aprilias of Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez.