Fabio di Giannantonio may have suffered his first Sunday retirement of the 2026 MotoGP season at the German Grand Prix, but the VR46 Ducati rider believes the bigger picture remains highly positive.
The crash at the Sachsenring saw Di Giannantonio drop from third to fifth in the championship standings at the halfway point of the season. He also lost his position as the highest-ranked Ducati rider, with reigning world champion Marc Marquez moving ahead of him.
Despite the setback, the Italian has plenty of reasons to be satisfied with his campaign so far.
Di Giannantonio has scored 42 more points than he had at the same stage last season, when he eventually finished sixth in the championship. He has also collected eight podium finishes across Grands Prix and Sprint races, including his maiden MotoGP victory at the Catalunya Grand Prix.
For Di Giannantonio, the most encouraging aspect has been his consistency.
“We are doing an amazing season, a lot of podiums, including Sprint races, and a lot of good results,” he said.
Source: Crash.net
The VR46 rider believes his performance has not been limited to a handful of standout weekends. Instead, he feels the team's pace has been competitive across almost every circuit so far this year.
“The speed is always there; that's the most important thing,” Di Giannantonio said. “It's not just a ‘spark’, it's every track that we go to we are performing well.”
That consistency has kept him firmly within the championship fight despite the Sachsenring setback. Di Giannantonio pointed out that he remains just 24 points away from the championship lead, leaving plenty of opportunity to recover ground during the second half of the season.
The Italian is also heading into the remainder of the campaign with his future already settled. He will move to the factory KTM team for the 2027 season, giving him another opportunity to establish himself as one of MotoGP's leading riders.
For now, however, his attention is firmly on finishing what has already become a standout season with VR46.
“I’m enjoying a lot every moment and in the last races I was also saying, ‘Wow, what a season!’” he said.
The second half of the MotoGP campaign begins at Silverstone this weekend, giving Di Giannantonio an immediate opportunity to respond to his Sachsenring disappointment.
With the championship still tightly contested and only 24 points separating him from the lead, the Italian's strong first half means he remains firmly in the title conversation.
The Sachsenring may have ended his impressive run of Sunday finishes, but Di Giannantonio is looking at the season as a whole. From regular podiums to his Catalunya victory, the VR46 rider has already produced the most consistent campaign of his MotoGP career, and he will now look to carry that momentum into the second half of 2026.
