A birthday present came with a trophy attached for Fabio Di Giannantonio on Saturday at Mandalika. The VR46 rider fought back from early contact to finish third in the Indonesian GP Sprint, his first podium in Indonesia.
Behind the Di Giannantonio Sprint podium
Di Giannantonio laid the groundwork in Qualifying, where a lap of 1’29″048 earned third on the grid and a front row start. He flew off the line when the race began, yet contact at the first corner pushed him back to fourth.
From there he settled into a steady rhythm and kept pace with the top three. He crossed the line third, 0.835s behind winner Marc Marquez, to secure the Di Giannantonio Sprint podium. Ai Ogura took second, only 0.326s ahead of him. The result keeps him sixth in the world standings on 237 points.
Saturday also brought a gutsy fightback from Franco Morbidelli at the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. The Italian-Brazilian rider went straight into Q2 on Friday, then qualified eleventh with a 1’29″790, just four thousandths from the top ten.
He lost ground early from the fourth row, yet recovered lap by lap to finish fourteenth. He now sits sixteenth in the standings with 57 points.
Tyre heat and a lesson in patience
Di Giannantonio was happy with the day overall, though the racer in him wanted more. He could see rivals ahead, yet his tyre overheated whenever he got close, which made a pass too risky.
He believes the contact at the start cost him a shot at something bigger. Even so, he sees reasons for optimism, with the team learning plenty and improving in every area. He expects Sunday to bring a fresh challenge, and the team has no plans to ease off.
Both riders now turn to the Indonesian GP main race, set for 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday. A Di Giannantonio Sprint podium and a gritty recovery from Morbidelli leave the VR46 garage with real momentum.
