Fabio di Giannantonio can do little on the track to change his future when he doesn’t have a contract in MotoGP for 2024. This Sunday, he showcased the best argument of all so far with his first victory at the Qatar GP.«

The current Gresini rider was asked if he now approaches the Valencia GP feeling more free mentally, considering he did his best to show he deserves a seat. In response, di Giannantonio denied it:

– For the rest of my life, if I look at Qatar 2023 race in MotoGP, I will always be the winner; I will always be proud of my achievement. But also I’m not free at all, because this is my dream. It’s the dream of our lifes to race in this level, in this championship, with these bikes, and to live with this job. So I’m not free at all because I would love to continue my journey. I will be free once and if I can sign a contract for next year.

For now, the Italian wants to enjoy the victory and maximize the opportunity that the Valencia GP presents: ‘At the moment I just want to be proud of my moment, enjoying the moment and try to make maximum also in Valencia that it’s another opportunity. It could be my last one, or maybe not. So I just want to do the maximum’.

O conteúdo ‘I will be free once and if I can sign a contract for next year’ – Fabio di Giannantonio aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Fabio di Giannantonio emerged victorious at the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix, securing his first win in the premier class at a time when his future in the grid may be in jeopardy. The Gresini rider didn’t let himself be intimidated by the direct duel with the champion and championship leader, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), surpassing his rival without showing any signs of being pressured.

The #49 revealed in a press conference that in the past week, there were negative developments about his future that left him particularly determined to win the round at Losail:

– I want to be honest: let’s say that after Malaysia something about my future happened and it wasn’t a good thing. So I arrived at home with a lot of anger, but in a positive way. I’ve said two or three times to my closest friends and family: «In Qatar I’m gonna win». And all the guys were saying: «Fabio, don’t say it, please, because if you say it the energy goes away». And I told: «I say to you now, I’m gonna win». But for sure when you arrive here you have to make all the things well and you have to make it happen. For sure it wasn’t easy, but we made it.

O conteúdo ‘After Malaysia something not good happened about my future’ – Fabio di Giannantonio aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix pole position was very close for Fabio di Giannantonio. He fell just 67 milliseconds short of Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati) in Saturday’s qualifying at Losail.

The Gresini rider said to the official broadcast that he thought he could have secured pole position and, despite it not happening, he emphasized his satisfaction with the performance he’s delivering:

– Honestly I thought that was a pole position lap, because the lap was super good. And then when I stopped I saw a lot of cameras on me, so I said: «Maybe we’ve done it». But Luca was amazing and did a little bit better than us. But I’m super happy about all the weekend until now, about my lap time. It’s a good moment for us, we have to keep work, being focused, and try to do the maximum this afternoon and tomorrow.

O conteúdo ‘I thought that was a pole position lap’ – Fabio di Giannantonio aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álex Márquez secured third place on the grid for the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix. After going through Q1 at Losail, the Gresini rider was in contention for pole position, securing a spot on the front row.

The Spaniard admitted to the official broadcast that, after encountering some difficulties, this result exceeded expectations. He also acknowledged how the pole position slipped away from him:

– Well, this weekend wasn’t really easy until now: two crashes and I would say the feeling on the bike isn’t amazing. But we did some steps this morning. Unfortunately we crashed also in FP2, but in general I’m feeling quite good. We’ve lost the pole on the T1, I did a small mistake into the turn 2. But to be here in the front race was something that I was not expecting, so I’m really happy. The pace, we will see. Everybody is trying a lot with the front tyre and we will see how it is in the end.

O conteúdo ‘I’ve lost the pole position with a mistake into the turn 2’ – Álex Márquez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Johann Zarco and Álex Márquez secured the last two spots in the second qualifying of the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix. The riders were the fastest in Q1 on Saturday in Losail, with the top four separated by just over a tenth of a second.

After the initial flying laps, Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati) led, with Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) in second. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) was third and, at that point, narrowly missed out on making it to Q2.

A crash by Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) led to yellow flags, preventing the riders from improving their times on their second flying laps before returning to the pits.

In the last five minutes, there was a turnaround in the timesheet, with Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) moving into the qualifying positions… before Zarco returned to the top with a new record lap (1m52.382s). The Frenchman was 55 thousandths of a second faster than Márquez.

Until the end, the top two positions remained unchanged. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati) was just 67 thousandths away from making it to Q2 but ended up in third place.

Results:

O conteúdo Johann Zarco (with a record lap) and Álex Márquez advance to Q2 in Losail aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

It was expected, and Honda, which let Marc Marquez prematurely terminate a contract running until the end of December 2024, shouldn’t be surprised by this news, which is perhaps only the first of its kind. The Red Bull logo will no longer appear on the fairings of the Repsol RC213Vs, despite a binding agreement which also ran until the end of the eight-time World Champion’s theoretical contract. The Austrian beverage that would give the Spaniard wings to fly away from the Honda factory team to Gresini Ducati. Another brand, Estrella Galicia, is reportedly ready to follow in the same footsteps.

The more time passes, the more we wonder how Honda is managing its MotoGP project. Technically, we’ve known for far too long that the men from HRC are outmatched by the new situation created by Ducati. But politically, the latest events are reminiscent of an inventory before closing. First of all, it has been decided to let star rider Marc Marquez go before his contract expires at the end of 2024, without penalty, but also without restrictions: on November 28, he will be able to start work on the Gresini Ducati at the first test of the MotoGP off-season in Valencia.

But there’s more to come. The sponsors are now leaving the fairing of the RC213V Repsol. According to Speedweek, Red Bull will be joining Marc Marquez at Gresini Ducati. It’s clear that he won’t be riding for free, and this strong message is already giving us an idea of where he might be heading in 2025… For Honda, this partnership, which has lasted since 2006, is not neutral, since the contract signed with the Austrian brand until the end of 2024 prohibits it from entering into any agreement with another company of the same name. Surprisingly, even if it were to withdraw prematurely from its investment …

While we’re on the subject of sport drinks, Honda may not have drunk the chalice to the dregs yet, as Estrella Galicia, the Spanish brewery with no energy-enhancing virtues, is the next brand to pull out. This year, it had not put its eggs in the same basket, following Alex Marquez to Gresini Ducati and Marc to Repsol Honda. With the two brothers now reunited, there would be no reason to split the budget between two teams.

And what about Repsol? The energy supplier is not likely to revise its plans, especially at this crucial time when it will be necessary to communicate about the sustainable fuel that will start to be found in MotoGP tanks next year. The current agreement runs until the end of 2024. Honda will therefore have lost not only its eight-time World Champion, but also its investors. That said, the saving of an estimated annual salary of 15 million euros should break even.

O conteúdo Red Bull leaves Honda and follows Marc Marquez to Gresini Ducati aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álex Márquez emerged victorious from the Sprint race of the MotoGP Malaysian GP. To achieve this, he took an early lead ahead of Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), surpassing the two contenders in the championship battle.

The Gresini rider stated in the official broadcast that it was a victory he sought but did not necessarily expect, expressing belief that he could be stronger in terms of race pace in Sunday’s main race:

– Today I was in a mission and the mission was to win this Sprint race. I know that for tomorrow I have a better chance because it looks like in the race pace we are really good – in the FP2 we were like this. But honestly I didn’t expect to make that difference in the Sprint. I was expecting to be with the top riders, to be with Jorge, especially, a little bit with Pecco also. Pecco just struggled a lit bit more. I did everything perfectly and I’m really happy.

Back to good performances after a challenging period for him, Márquez emphasized that he wants to keep the momentum until the end of the season: ‘We were struggling in the last races, but people forget that we were injured, we were coming back and now we are were, so we need to keep the level like this until Valencia’.

O conteúdo ‘Tomorrow I have a better chance; I didn’t expect to make that difference in the Sprint’ – Álex Márquez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Fabio Di Giannantonio and Enea Bastianini secured the last two spots in the fight for pole position at the MotoGP Malaysian GP. Both were the fastest in the first phase of qualifying in Sepang.

After the first launched laps, Bastianini (Ducati) and Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) held the first two positions, with Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) in third. Pol Espargaró (GasGas Tech3/KTM) was fourth, but in his second lap, he suffered a crash that delayed his efforts.

The standings didn’t change with the second attempts before the riders returned to the pits to prepare for the final minutes of this Q1. Back on the track, Aleix Espargaró took the lead ahead of Bastianini, pushing Morbidelli out of the qualifying zone.

Shortly after, Di Giannantonio (Gresini/Ducati) and Bastianini surpassed Aleix Espargaró to take the top two positions. The Spaniard dropped to third and was 0.158s behind the top two, in addition to being in the pits. With a late crash by Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), those still on flying laps couldn’t improve, staying out.

The six-time champion will start from 20th, just behind Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia), who finished ninth in this Q1. Also eliminated were, among others, Morbidelli and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda), who will start from 15th and 16th, respectively.

Results:

O conteúdo Fabio Di Giannantonio and Enea Bastianini advancing for the Q2 in Sepang aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Alex Márquez finished the first day of practice in first place overall. The Spanish rider was in great form along with his rival Jorge Martín, who finished in second position.

The Gresini Racing MotoGP rider spoke about the recovery process leading up to the Malaysian GP which has left Alex limited, but he said that today’s result is the reward for the effort he has made in recent weeks to be in the best possible shape physically.

‘ It’s a track I like a lot, in Australia I was fast, but I still wasn’t 100% recovered. When you arrive here and from the first lap you feel good and the setup is working with your driving style, it’s much easier. This year we’re racing with the medium tire and I think the other riders will use the medium front and rear tire in the race. Ducati haven’t said anything to me about Martín or Pecco, so I have no problem interfering in their fight.

Asked how he feels most confident and strong at the Sepang circuit, Alex replied: “Everything is going very naturally, which is a good sign. We tried to change a few things that weren’t working so well, but overall we’re very comfortable. For the race the key sector is third, if we don’t lose too much time in this sector we can win the race, but in general we have to be fast everywhere, in turn 1 it’s very important to get in well to do a fast lap, but we’ll see.

O conteúdo ‘Ducati haven’t said anything to me about Martín or Pecco’ – Álex Márquez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álex Márquez led the practice for the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix. The Spanish rider was one of the fastest from the beginning and confirmed the top position, being one of the two to lap in the 1m57s, along with Jorge Martín.

After the initial flying laps, the lead was with Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), ahead of his brother Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) by just 44 thousandths. The positions reversed in the second attempts, while Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati) became third but was later surpassed by compatriot Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha). In the first ten minutes, Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) crashed without major consequences.

Around 20 minutes into the session, a new leader emerged: Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) was 0.182s faster than Álex Márquez. Moments before, Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia) had reached the top five positions, where Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) would also later join.

About 15 minutes before the checkered flag, Zarco improved to be just seven thousandths behind Martín, and Quartararo rose to third. But Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) was the fastest at this stage… for a short time, before Quartararo was 0.094s faster. Not resigned, the South African regained the lead shortly after. Meanwhile, Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) suffered his fourth fall of the day.

The situation on the timing sheet did not last long, as Álex Márquez regained the lead. However, there was still much time left, and only in the last two minutes did the best laps appear. Martín was the first to enter the 1m57s, but it was ultimately Álex Márquez who set the pace by beating his compatriot by 0.174s.

Red Bull KTM performed well, with Jack Miller in third and Brad Binder in fourth, while Viñales finished fifth. Bagnaia, the championship leader, could only manage eighth, but still secured a direct spot in the second qualifying phase. The last one to achieve this was Zarco, who finished tenth just 84 thousandths ahead of Morbidelli. Among the riders relegated to Q1 are both Repsol Honda riders, Marc Márquez and Joan Mir, as well as Enea Bastianini (Ducati) and Aleix Espargaró.

O conteúdo Álex Márquez (and Jorge Martín) crushed the competition in the Malaysian GP practice aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.