'A real redemption' - Qatar MotoGP winner Fabio Di Giannantonio celebrates victory as contract expiry looms

Fabio Di Giannantonio celebrated his first ever MotoGP win at the Qatar GP and celebrated a “real redemption".

The Italian Gresini rider made a late attack on current champion and race leader Peccho Bagnaia, and held off his challenge as the title favourite got caught in his slipstream and went wide of the track.

That gave Di Giannantonio a relatively easy end to the race as he took the finishing line before being overcome by emotion on the side of the track, with colleagues coming to congratulate the 25-year-old.

“What to say, it’s been an incredible race. When I was behind Peccho I knew I could have something more, and in the middle of the race I was struggling with the front, and then I saw he was doing little mistakes and I thought I would have a little opportunity,” he said.

As things stand, he is without a ride next season, but the late success could put him back in the mix for the remaining spare seats.

He said the win was: “A real redemption, a real revenge. First for myself. Now we did it, now we are MotoGP winners.”

Bagnaia was ultimately satisfied with second place, as rival Jorge Martin finished way down in 10th after struggling with reported tyre trouble.

He now has a 21-point lead going into the season finale at Valencia, which means that he is more than likely to come away with another world title.

Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “I’m very happy, what I was expecting was the same as yesterday. But we managed a perfect start and I was alone at the front and I tried to push, but today, [Di Giannantonio] was incredible.

“I tried to manage the tyres, but unluckily I got attacked by his slipstream and went totally wide. Happy with the result, we managed to open the gap ahead of Jorge, and Valencia is very important.”

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media