Ducati riders Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio have offered their takes on the four-rider incident at the first corner of the Mandalika MotoGP sprint on Saturday.
While Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi’s Aprilias ended up biting the dust after taking up outside positions – with Fernandez hurling blame at Bezzecchi after the race – the two Ducatis on the inside played a major part.
Considering the expected speed advantage of the two Aprilias, both Di Giannantonio and Marquez were anxious to get their noses in front at the first corner. Thus the riders approached the turn four abreast, with Di Giannantonio on the extreme inside and Marquez braking alongside him.
VR46 rider ‘Diggia’ explained after the race that Marquez had brushed his left foot with his right knee, knocking his Ducati into first gear. That brush led to Marquez picking up his GP26, with knock-on consequences for Bezzecchi and, ultimately, Fernandez.
“I don’t know anything, guys,” said Di Giannantonio. “You have to ask the other guys. I was on the inside and I just did my braking and got hit by another rider.”
Close examination of the replays confirms this claim, with the ‘other rider’ being Marquez.
“He caused me to have the first gear then. So when I exited from the first corner, I was on the rev limiter in first gear. So, honestly, you have to ask the others.”
The touch explains why Di Giannantonio emerged from the first corner in fourth place despite heading into it in the perfect position.
Marquez did not mention touching Di Giannantonio in his interview after the race, summing the incident up as a case of too many riders scrapping to win the corner – with braking misjudgments thrown in.
“Turn 1 is easy to explain,” said the factory man. “Four bikes in parallel. I believe that Bezzecchi was looking to Raul to brake a bit later, I was looking to Bezzecchi to brake a bit later and Diggia was looking to me to brake a bit later.
“The consequence? Four riders out of the line and Martin going from fifth to first. It was tough and [on the] limit but it’s racing. The first corner is like this.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Di Giannantonio also said there were no regrets about pushing for the maximum in the first corner.
“Ah, well, we are here for racing,” said the Roman. “So, theoretically the guy that is in front wins. So, for sure, you always try to be in front.”
The pressure to lead into the first corner was justified by the subsequent race, which featured almost no genuine overtaking moves despite plenty of drama.
Additional reporting by Gerald Dirnbeck.
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