Last Monday, MotoGP had a testing day in Jerez, where Fabio Di Giannantonio set the pace. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team rider has not been fighting for top positions in this year’s Grand Prix races, but reminded everyone that he also has the potential to be at the front. Currently seventh in the championship, he has never finished outside the top ten in the main races.
The Italian talked about his approach to the test: ‘As we know that testing is always a bit unrealistic due to the level of grip, the focus was to understand what a part does, whether it’s a different shock setup, fork, or a new part on the bike. It’s all about feedback, not lap times or anything else, just to understand the characteristics of that part to use it or not in the following rounds. So, that was the approach we had for this test – removing all the things about grip and other stuff‘.
Asked if he has found the right base for his Ducati Desmosedici GP23, Di Giannantonio clarified that there were no changes to the setup: ‘We had some issues, but they were not related to the setup – the bike setup is very similar compared to what we are using now. We changed some things, but not in the setup itself, in other areas. But I think we were fast in this round. I am happy with my start of the season‘.
The pilot added: ‘This weekend we were very fast at all times. I only lacked two or three first laps of the race because I was having some difficulties with the rear grip. But then I was fast. The bike is very fast compared to the beginning of the season‘.
