Fabio Di Giannantonio Reveals Late-Race Indian GP Retirement Reason
Categories: MotoGP
Fabio Di Giannantonio seemed poised for a top-10 finish at the Indian GP but was forced to prematurely exit the race. The Italian explains his retirement.
The Gresini Ducati pilot characterized the situation as “perilous.” Following his narrow miss of the points in the MotoGP sprint on Saturday, where he finished in 10th place, Fabio Di Giannantonio displayed a robust performance on the subsequent Sunday during the Indian GP.
Commencing from the 13th position, the Roman rider progressively advanced to 8th place in the first half of the race, positioning himself for his sixth top-10 finish of the season. Nevertheless, during the 19th lap, the Gresini Ducati pilot experienced an abrupt fall from 9th place to 16th.
He attributed this setback to the following: “My start went smoothly, as I managed to gain some positions. I was holding the 8th spot and could have secured another top-10 result. However, after a few laps, my shoulder gave in,” referencing his previously injured shoulder sustained during the Misano GP.
Two laps prior to the race’s conclusion, the 24-year-old eventually steered towards the Gresini pit and parked his Desmosedici GP22 in the garage.
“I aimed to withstand the pain, but in the final laps, my efforts were solely focused on maintaining control of the bike.”
“Due to the excruciating pain, I even briefly experienced moments of darkness during braking; it was genuinely hazardous.”
“The pain simply became too overwhelming, which compelled me to withdraw from the race two laps before its conclusion,” he elucidated his decision.
In his second MotoGP season, Di Giannantonio currently occupies the 17th position in the World Championship standings.
Consequently, his frustration is heightened as he reflects on squandering a potentially favorable outcome in India: “Naturally, I’m disheartened because I consistently demonstrated speed throughout the entire weekend, and the results appeared promising until Sunday.”
The Italian has 16 more MotoGP races at his disposal to substantiate his abilities before his anticipated return to the Moto2 class in 2024.
