There are weekends where everything goes wrong, even for a boy like Danilo Petrucci who was coming off an extraordinary Grand Prix at Misano where he finished second behind Marc Marquez, very close to victory, and preceding the big names Andrea Dovizioso and Maverick Vinales.
At MotorLand, the sky did not do any favors, and when it poured down truckloads of water on Friday, Danilo could only paddle in nineteenth position. It was nothing dramatic because the weather forecast predicted good weather for both days of the weekend.
There was indeed an improvement for Petrucci on Saturday morning when he moved up to thirteenth place in the final free practice sessions, but that was not enough to qualify him for Q2. Q1 was mediocre and Danilo had to settle for sixth time, therefore sixteenth place on the grid, on the sixth row with Loris Baz and Jonas Folger.
In the race, Petrucci was fifteenth after the first lap, then was overtaken by Karel Abraham. Then it was his teammate Scott Redding who was ahead of him, then Tito Rabat which pushed him back to seventeenth position. To top it off, Danilo saw Alex Rins, Jonas Folger, Hector Barbera and even Bradley Smith pass him on the last lap. Imagine: second in Misano in the fight with the winner Marc Marquez, then in the following Grand Prix doubled by Bradley Smith!
According to the Pramac team, “ Danilo's feeling hasn't been good all weekend. During the race, abnormal wear of the rear tire did not allow him to be competitive ". Which rear tire did Petrucci choose? The medium, like Pedrosa who finished second.
To Danilo Petrucci, who are " It's a weekend to forget. I couldn't be competitive and I'm really sorry for that. During the race I had problems with the rear tire. My mistake ? I don't know. But under normal conditions, this is not my place. »
Ranking of the Aragon Grand Prix:
1- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 23 laps
2- Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda Team - Honda RC213V - + 0.879
3- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 2.028
4- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 5.256
5- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 5.882
6- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 6.962
7- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 7.455
8- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 7.910
9- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 13.002
10- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 14.075
11- Mika Kallio – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 17.192
12- Andrea Iannone – Team Suzuki ECSTAR – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 20.632
13- Jack Miller – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 23.886
14- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 25.523
15- Tito Rabat – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 26.082
16- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 30.302
17- Alex Rins – Team Suzuki ECSTAR – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 31.874
18- Hector Barbera – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 31.948
19- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 36.296
20- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 37.842
21- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 47.599
22- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 47.647
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 224 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 208
3 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 196
4 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 170
5 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 168
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 117
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 106
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 95
9 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 92
10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 84
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 70
12 Jack MILLER-Honda 56
13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 56
14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 53
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 39
16 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 37
17 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 37
18 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 28
19 Tito RABAT-Honda 28
20 Alex RINS-Suzuki 27
Photos © Pramac Racing Limited
