Di Giannantonio-Marquez at the ‘chicane’ like Marquez-Rossi: what similarities with 2015

Something already seen The immediate sensation was that of déjà vu: the duel which saw Fabio Di Giannantono and Marc Marquez as protagonists this Sunday in Assen and which culminated with the attack of the Roman rider at the chicane before the finish line with six laps to go has an illustrious and ‘infamous’ ancestor in MotoGP. Obviously the reference is to what happened on the last lap of the 2015 race between Marquez and Valentino Rossi and it is truly a twist of fate that 11 years later the Spanish rider and a standard bearer from the team owned by Rossi found themselves in the same place for the same maneuver. But even more paradoxical is the fact that, compared to what happened over a decade ago, the roles this time were reversed. In 2015 Marquez was the attacker who attempted a desperate attack inside against Rossi, who was instead defending the position. The then Honda rider jumped in, forcing the Doctor to raise his Yamaha and cut into the gravel, then continuing straight towards the finish line and victory; Marquez, for his part, cut a very small piece of the curve – putting both wheels outside the limits of the track at least for a few moments – only to then try to get back on track to correctly navigate the ‘S’. In that case the victory was left to Rossi and Marquez complained, accusing his rival of having taken advantage by cutting the corner on the gravel. Di Giannantonio penalized, but still fourth. This time it was the #93 Ducati who was forced to cut into the gravel, having necessarily had to stand up his bike due to the decisive entry made by Di Giannantonio who in this case took on the role of the Marquez of the time. The only difference – a substantial one however – was in the outcome of the manoeuvre, because after the chicane Di Giannantonio emerged in front of Marquez’s red GP26. In fact, the Roman had also cut a small part of the curve, passing through the blue part of the escape route. This was precisely the element that pushed the stewards to intervene. In fact, Di Giannantonio was penalized by the stewards with a Long Lap to be served in the race for having crossed the chicane without wasting time. A sanction that seems correct, but which did not influence the final outcome of the GP. In fact, Di Giannantonio returned to the track behind Marquez but it didn’t take him long to overtake the nine-time world champion again, again at the chicane but this time with a tough but correct maneuver. The #49 thus finished the Dutch GP fourth in the standings while Marquez had to settle for seventh place, also behind his brother Alex and Enea Bastianini.

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-06-29 00:01:00