Fabio di Giannantonio emerged as Ducati’s top finisher at the Thai MotoGP, despite suffering a technical issue during Sunday’s race.
The VR46 rider looked poised for a Buriram podium assault after qualifying at the head of row two.
But his Sprint race chances ended after being pushed wide by Alex Marquez on the opening lap.
The Italian then settled into sixth early in the grand prix, before a mysterious technical issue emerged.
“A great weekend, a great job from the team,” di Giannantonio told MotoGP.com.
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“I want to keep the focus on that because we have many positives from the weekend. We are really strong. I think we’ve done an amazing job. I’ve been super-fast in all the practices.
“But then, we got some quite unlucky moments: Yesterday [in the Sprint] and today with a technical issue since lap six today. So, luck was not on our side. “
2026 Thai MotoGP lap times: The Top 6.
© Peter McLaren
Di Giannantonio declined to reveal the exact problem, ruling out a direct tyre issue but hinting it led to overheating: “It was just difficult to ride, let’s say.”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t push as I wanted for this reason,” he added.
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The closing stages saw di Giannantonio slip to seventh after a pass from Joan Mir, but then be promoted to fifth by the retirement of both the Honda rider and factory Ducati star Marc Marquez.
However, Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura snatched the place from him with two laps to go.
“If we can finish sixth despite a problem, we can be optimistic, because today we could have had a really great race,” di Giannantonio said.
“I think we could have fought at least for third place because we were there in terms of pace.
“We knew that Aprilia were really, really strong here. We knew that Pedro [Acosta] was in form, but I think we were there at the end.
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“So, at least I would have tried it, but I couldn’t.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t complete the job with two strong races, but we head to Brazil with a smile and the confidence that we can be competitive.”
Buriram saw the first premier-class grand prix without a Ducati rider on the podium since Aragon in 2021.
Diggia’s team-mate Franco Morbidelli, riding a satellite-spec GP25, finished in eighth place.
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