Fabio di Giannantonio blasts “dangerous manoeuvres” due to towing in qualifying

Fabio di Giannantonio was in full agreement with Pecco Bagnaia regarding MotoGP’s ‘towing’ situation at the British Grand Prix.

The Italian’s sprint race was also hit with a long lap penalty after exceeding track limits, but he still managed to score one point in ninth place after serving his penalty. 

• 2024 British MotoGP, Silverstone - Sprint Race Results

When asked about the towing situation in qualifying, he said: “Sometimes we see a lot of dangerous manoeuvres, from a lot of riders. We are MotoGP riders, we are professionals and we should be able to go on track and just go full throttle. 

"I think we don’t really need to be towing at our level, if you need to tow at this level - it is bad. Also when you judge younger riders (in lower classes) you see them do a good job alone or with the slipstream.

He agreed with what Bagnaia said about the ‘tow’ situation:

“But in MotoGP, you just need to go on the track and push and with what Pecco said it is quite ridiculous. It is bad for the TV and it’s bad for the show. Honestly, it was a bit too dangerous with all the movements.”

“I go on track to do my job and focus on doing a fast lap time and when you see a lot of riders just waiting in the middle of the track, waiting for nothing… It’s bad. There are many World Champions, so we should all be pushing the same way.”

He explained how a small mistake around Silverstone is very costly:

“It is a really fast track, when you do a small mistake - you can change your line, but honestly I didn’t know where I got my first track limits warning. The second one, I did a mistake when trying to overtake Alex Marquez on the exit of turn fifteen. He was on the limit of the kerb and then I was next to him on the green, so there was no space and I knew instantly that it was a long lap penalty.

When asked by Crash.net about his front tyre options for the Grand Prix, he explained how the hard front can cause riders to be on the “limit” due to the crossover point with the medium/hard tyre:

“I think the medium front was a really good option today, the hard front was a bit on the limit especially if you could remain alone at the front of your group. In my case, the medium was a little bit on the limit when I was in the group, but really good when I was alone.

So it was the right tyre to use for the sprint, tomorrow it depends. If you are in the group, you can use the hard front and get an advantage - but if you’re alone it is really risky like what happened to Marc (Marquez).”

“If you get a cold tyre, you will maybe crash. So let’s see as it depends on the temperature and also because it is my first race that I don’t feel a big change between the medium front and the hard. The decision will be made straight from the temperature.”