Analyzing Fabio Di Giannantonio’s Dual Crashes at the German MotoGP

Up until last Sunday, Fabio Di Giannantonio had finished every Grand Prix in the 2026 season, placing inside the top six on all but one occasion.

His consistency kept him close to the championship lead, allowing him to start the Sachsenring race in third place, just 13 points behind Jorge Martin.

Starting from third on the grid, he was poised for another strong points haul—especially with Martin beginning behind him—but Sunday in Germany took a different turn, as Di Giannantonio crashed twice on his Ducati and fell to fifth in the standings.

The first incident occurred during warm‑up, when the winner of May’s Catalan Grand Prix suffered a high‑speed tumble at Turn 8. His explanation was somewhat cryptic.

“I was trying a better line and it was working well throughout the warm‑up,” he said. “On that lap I did even better… but with the set‑up we have, we discovered something we hadn’t known before. That put me too much on the limit at the rear, and I lost it.”

Later in the day, Di Giannantonio managed only three laps of the race before crashing again at another quick left‑hander, Turn 10, while running fifth.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Regarding the race incident, the 27‑year‑old could not pinpoint what went wrong.

“We’re still trying to understand exactly what happened,” he said. “The data shows it was an exact copy of the previous lap—identical suspension settings, speed, angle, throttle. It’s a bit strange.”

“But that’s part of racing. Sometimes you crash without a clear reason; it’s a mix of factors. It’s my first Grand Prix mistake this year—statistically, it was bound to happen.”

Some observers questioned his decision to run the 2026 Ducati rear aerodynamics during warm‑up, calling it a risky move on the morning of an important Grand Prix.

Di Giannantonio, who kept the aero package for the brief race despite the warm‑up crash, defended his choice when speaking to the media afterward.

“We had a really good bike from yesterday,” he explained. “So we thought trying it in warm‑up wasn’t a big gamble. If we felt it wasn’t right, we could revert and still have a podium‑contending bike. Hence we weren’t overly concerned.”

“Actually, it felt a little better this morning, so we decided to keep it for the race.”

Speaking on the grid before his rider’s ill‑fated Grand Prix, VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto said the aero change was no big deal.

“Why not?” Nieto remarked. “The difference is minimal. It was just to try something slightly different, but in the end nothing changed. Diggia preferred to do it this way, and we agreed because the gain is negligible.”

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