Fabio Di Giannantonio snatched a shock pole position at home in the Italian MotoGP on Saturday, as Marc Marquez announced he will undergo further surgery on his troublesome right arm.
Gresini rider Di Giannantonio took top spot on the grid for the first time in his career on his final lap at Mugello, posting a stunning time of one minute, 46.156sec to pip countryman Marco Bezzecchi by just 0.088sec.
The 23-year-old Italian had made his way into the second run after topping the times in the first qualifying session and his team celebrated wildly as he snatched pole at the death.
“I’m starting to understand something about racing, before all I used to do was push as hard as I could,” Di Giannantonio said to Sky.