Stuck for three-quarters of the race behind Brad Binder, Fabio Di Giannantonio was a little frustrated at the finish of the Argentine GP, but satisfied to have secured a second top 5 finish despite his physical condition.
If he is still not 100% recovered from his broken collarbone, Fabio DiGiannantonio can boast of having achieved a " excellent " Argentine Grand Prix, as he called it to GP One, confirming his desire to be at the forefront this seasonQualifying in sixth position, he achieved a top 5 finish in the sprint race on Saturday and did so again in the main race on Sunday, taking fifth place from Johann Zarco on the last lap.
However, he showed some frustration at not seeing his race go as he had hoped. After a very muscular overtake by his teammate Franco Morbidelli at the start of the race which caused him to go wide, he found himself stuck behind one of the biggest brakers in the field: Brad Binder, and passing him was no easy task.
"I think that without Morbidelli's overtake I would have finished the race in a different way.", he explained. “I got off to a good start and the plan was to move up to fourth or fifth straight away and then start the comeback, but Franco played it well and ruined my race. I stayed behind Binder for three-quarters of the race and lost a lot of time because he’s very difficult to overtake. I had a lot of pace; after 20 laps I was still running at 1:38, but by then it was too late. I’m a bit upset because I feel like I wasted a podium.”
"With the current regulations, if you find yourself behind a big braker, the only thing that can save you is if he makes a mistake. In my case, he made a small mistake and I managed to slip past, otherwise I probably would have been stuck behind him. That's also why qualifying and the first laps are crucial. In those moments you have to take risks."
By Giannantonio However, he retains the positive, namely that his physical form is improving and that he has gone from a top 10 in Thailand 15 days ago to a top 5 in Argentina: "In terms of speed and consistency, I made a big step forward compared to Thailand. I'm really happy and proud because we did a great job. Obviously, I can't be 100% satisfied because I wanted to finish in the top three."
The VR46 driver remains limited by his left collarbone, which caused him considerable pain on the Buriram circuit. While the pain was manageable this time, he admits that it distracted him at the end of the race. "It was tough, but not like the last Grand Prix, where I was destroyed in the final laps. In the final laps, I lost concentration and even forgot to deactivate the holeshot device twice! I kept thinking about how to recover energy on the straight.", he said.
The next Grand Prix will take place on the very demanding Austin track, which could pose a problem for him: "I hope not, but I fear it will. In the next few days, rather than resting, I'm going to focus on building up my upper body."
Results of the Argentine Grand Prix :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
