Despite physical issues, Fabio di Giannantonio returned to the podium at the Grand Prix of the Americas.
Fabio di Giannantonio returned to the rostrum at the Grand Prix of the Americas and was one of the riders who switched bikes at the start of the race.
The Italian rider did not swap bikes 'for any reason'; he just followed Marc Marquez's lead. Di Giannantonio had qualified in second place despite his team trying to stop him.
"Honestly, I was not having any ideas," Di Giannantonio said.
"I just said, ‘let’s do what Marc does’. In these conditions, he’s always been quite clever. So, I saw him running, I jumped off the bike. My mechanics stopped me. I said, ‘no, I have to go’.
"But honestly, not for any reason; I was just following. If I start on the front row and the guy on pole starts running out, I think I have to follow, I have to be on the same conditions."
Fabio di Giannantonio ended his podium drought
Di Giannantonio had not featured on a MotoGP podium since the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, when he claimed his maiden MotoGP win.
The 26-year-old's third place at the Grand Prix of the Americas was also his first with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team after joining them in 2024.
"Let’s say after the seventh lap, I said ‘ok, let’s have a look on the pitboard to see about the laps remaining’ and it was 11 laps," he explained.
"So, I was like ‘oh, man, that’s a problem’ because my left arm was already completely exhausted. So, I started to ride in a completely different way, started to use a lot of muscles around the body, and now honestly I’m tired.
"So, I tried to manage to five laps to the end. Then I saw I was matching Alex [Marquez’s] pace, and also my tyres were not that bad.
"So, I tried to push a little bit to catch him. I was recovering, but I was still too far, and just the last lap I lost the rear a bit here and there. So, I said, ‘it’s completely ok like this, let’s finish the race and make a wheelie’.
"I’m just so happy. We put so much work into it. This winter has been too long for us. Too many injuries, too many hours at the physio. And to be back where we should have been from the beginning is a super feeling.
"I just can’t thank my team enough because they’ve always been by my side, always believed in me, and it’s not a thing that you take for granted.
"We knew that arriving here would be tough physically. I trained quite a lot while I was in America this week, and for this, I’m super happy because we have improved, we are there, and we are keeping the momentum going.
"I’m just proud of them, of me, of our race. For sure, this podium comes from a mistake from Marc but I think that’s racing. We make the podium, and we take it and we go home with a lot of beers and celebrating."
