A Ducati star's hopes for the Portugal MotoGP were dashed in the chaotic opening laps, with Fabio Di Giannantonio struggling to make headway in the 'jungle' of the first corners.
The Italian rider, who started from ninth on the grid, made good progress on Saturday, climbing to fifth place. However, his hopes of a repeat performance were quickly dashed on the opening lap as he was pushed down the field by the chaotic start.
Despite his efforts, Di Giannantonio was only able to fight his way through to ninth by lap 11, and could only advance one more spot after a late pass on a struggling Johann Zarco. The Italian, who was the leading GP25 at the finish, believes that less chaos in the first corners could have allowed him to fight further in front.
However, he laid the blame fully on his lacklustre qualifying, stating that the start was complicated from the first lap. He explained that the first corner, third corner, and fifth corner were particularly chaotic, pushing him far back in the pack.
Di Giannantonio has struggled with qualifying since the Catalan Grand Prix, where he finished third in the sprint. He has only breached the top two rows in qualifying twice this season, in Austin and Hungary, both of which yielded podium finishes. With just the Valencia Grand Prix finale to go, Di Giannantonio remains in a tight battle for sixth in the standings with team-mate Franco Morbidelli, with 12 points separating them.
Despite needing to go for checks in a local hospital after a lap one crash in Portugal, Morbidelli is expected to race this weekend in Valencia.
