Fabio Di Giannantonio arrived at Motegi with real optimism after a strong qualifying session. His Saturday lasted less than one lap.
The Italian qualified sixth with a 1’42″628, earning a second row start for the Japanese Grand Prix Sprint. He held his position off the line, but a multi rider crash early on the opening lap left him with nowhere to go.
First Lap Chaos Wrecks a Promising Start
Replays showed Alex Marquez clipping the rear of Pedro Acosta’s KTM, and the chain reaction brought down Di Giannantonio as well. All three were out on the spot. Alex Marquez was handed a double long lap penalty for Sunday’s race.
The team confirmed Di Giannantonio escaped without serious injury, though he took a heavy blow to the ribs. The Di Giannantonio Motegi Sprint exit leaves him fifth in the championship on 230 points.
He explained that the team had worked hard on tyre management and believed a strong result was possible. He felt his start and first corner were clean, and he promised the squad would come back fighting on Sunday.
Morbidelli Grinds His Way to 12th
The other side of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team garage had a more productive day. Franco Morbidelli missed Q2 by a few tenths and qualified 14th with a 1’43″136.
Starting from the fifth row, the Italian-Brazilian rider settled into a steady rhythm over the 12 laps and climbed to 12th at the flag. He sits 16th overall on 56 points.
Morbidelli described the opening laps as tense because of the crashes around him. Once the pack settled, he relaxed, kept pace with the group ahead and called it a smooth race built on clear progress from Friday.
For VR46, the Di Giannantonio Motegi Sprint crash was a missed opportunity rather than a sign of missing pace. With sixth place speed in qualifying, Di Giannantonio had every reason to target a big result in the Grand Prix.
