VR46 rider, Fabio di Giannantonio will undergo surgery after the Thai Grand Prix and will miss the end of the 2024 season.
After next weekend's Thai Grand Prix, Fabio di Giannantonio will undergo surgery on his left shoulder. The Italian rider will not return for the final two rounds of the 2024 season after his surgery.
After medical checks, the VR46 rider looked set to finish the season after flying to Phillip Island for this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
On Thursday, di Giannantonio announced that he is heading for surgery after Buriram, electing to miss the Malaysian and Valencia MotoGP rounds.
“I would have liked to race until Valencia," di Giannantonio said. "Close the season in the best possible way with the Team and then take all the time necessary to deal with the surgery, recovery and rehabilitation.
“Unfortunately, however, the calendar is really demanding, the winter break is so short and we cannot risk not arriving at the peak of physical condition at the start of 2025. Together with the Team, the medical staff and Professor Castagna, we evaluated in the week after the Thai GP the maximum limit to be able to proceed with the shoulder surgery.
“I thought about it for a long time, because it was important for me to give my all until the last race to repay everyone for the great trust they gave me in 2024, but I am sure that this decision will be really important for my future.”
VR46 team director Alessio Salucci added, "On the one hand, as a team, I am really sorry to have to give this news, because I know how much effort Fabio has put in these last months after the crash, it wasn’t easy, but he always gave his best.
"This decision doesn’t come by chance, he could have continued to race until Valencia, but this would have meant postponing the surgery until the end of November. There wouldn’t have been enough time to optimise the recovery and rehabilitation and this would have certainly affected his physical condition in view of the start of the next season.
"It’s a decision totally shared with Fabio, all the medical staff, Professor Castagna and also our partners who support us in this project."