Portimao MotoGP: Fabio Di Giannantonio ‘back fit’, Alex Marquez ‘confident’ ahead of official Ducati debut

Gresini Ducati duo Fabio Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez look ahead to the opening two rounds of the MotoGP season, following contrasting fortunes at the final pre-season test. 
Fabio Di Giannantonio, Gresini Ducati MotoGP Portimao 2023
Fabio Di Giannantonio, Gresini Ducati MotoGP Portimao 2023

Di Giannantonio ended the recent two-day Portimao MotoGP Test unable to complete the final day following a c🃏rash which resulted in him suffering a concussion. 

The 24-year-old suffered a concussion after a big impact with the gravel, which he called ‘insane’ due to i𝔉t♚s size.

But aftꦆer making a full recovery ahead of this weekend’s season-opener, the Italian, who claimꦇed a maiden pole during his rookie campaign at Mugello, is ‘charged up’ and ready to make an impact. 

"I’ve been feeling 100% fit for a few days now, and after the hit suffered in the test, it was important t🧸o get back in shape straight away," said the Gresini rider. "I’m charged up for Portugal and for the new race weekend format. 

"Po✨rtimao has always been a demanding track♎, so we’ll have to manage the energy well and get in the points straight away. 

"We’ll see then where we’re at in Argentina, on a track that it’ꦫs usually quite dirty at the starꦓt of the weekend: it will be important to be quick straight away and be less conservative."

On the other𝕴 side of the garage is new teammate Marquez, who enjoyed a very promising pre-season with the Ducꦏati outfit.

Alex Marquez, Portimao MotoGP test, 12 March
Alex Marquez, Portimao MotoGP test, 12 March

A constant challenger for the top five in both Sep✨ang and Portimao, Marquez appe💧ars primed to make an immediate impact despite the Spaniard confirming he still needs to ‘know the Ducati better’.

Marquez added: "Time to begin finally! We’re coming from a few days of very positive testing and I’m eager to test myself at ෴the track🦄. 

"I would have loved a few more days to get to know the Ducati better, but we’re at a good point already and the first t🤪hree-four races of the season will 🧜be key to find the right automatisms and feelings ahead of the season. 

"There’s a sprint race to discover, so we’ll dive into the🔯se first two🗹 weekends with renewed confidence."

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