With a courageous overtaking maneuver against Bagnaia, Fabio Di Giannantonio gives VR46 and Italy something to cheer about—a podium finish at Mugello is a dream come true
“When I was fourth with about five laps to go, I told myself every lap: No P4, no P4 – today is not a race for fourth place,” said Fabio Di Giannantonio, describing his comeback in the final stages. In front of around 84,000 Italian fans, he was determined to celebrate on the podium at Mugello.
“So I pushed hard and gave it my all right to the end. And it paid off because, in the end, I made a pretty aggressive move on ‘Pecco’ – but it was the only way to get past him because he was incredibly strong under the brakes.”
On the penultimate lap, Di Giannantonio completed his overtaking maneuver against Francesco Bagnaia and secured third place. After finishing third in Austin, it was his second podium finish in the 2025 MotoGP season.
The fact that he achieved this at his home race in Mugello is a childhood dream come true: “It’s fantastic. I grew up watching MotoGP races. Seeing Vale, Capirex, and Biaggi standing here on the podium with special helmets and special designs.”
“In front of such an incredible backdrop with all the fans down on the start-finish straight by the podium. It feels like a real dream. It’s fantastic – for me, for us, because we’re getting back to the form we had in the previous Grands Prix, which we had lost a little.”
Team boss Valentino Rossi was also there. Di Giannantonio was able to repay the legend’s trust with the podium and create a party atmosphere. “I have goose bumps because it’s so special. I was finally able to give Vale a podium,” said a delighted “Diggia.”
After the first lap, the 26-year-old was in eighth place. With a better starting position and a better start, could he have achieved more than third place? At the finish line, he was less than a second behind Alex Marquez.
“If you want to fight with Alex, who is in top form, or with Marc when he’s winning races, then you have to at least start with them. We have to work on that. My race was long overall – as always, because we don’t manage to get a great qualifying.”
“In hindsight, I’d say that with a few more laps, I might have been able to catch Alex. But the truth is, I need to start further up front. I have to manage to get the most out of the first two rows of the grid if I want to fight with these guys.“
”Sure, you put in a great comeback, push the bike to the limit, yourself too – but that’s not how you win a race,” Di Giannantonio is well aware. This season, he started once from the front row and twice from the second row.
At Mugello, he finished on the podium from seventh on the grid. “The feeling on the podium was fantastic. I wanted to stand on the pit wall with all the fans below, I wanted to feel that feeling.”
“And it was incredible,” enthuses Di Giannantonio. “I remember getting goosebumps under my leather suit. One thing’s for sure: that’s a day I’ll never forget. It also gives us enormous motivation for the upcoming races.”
