Third in the Italian Grand Prix the previous weekend, Petrucci once again put himself in the spotlight in Barcelona by setting the third fastest time in qualifying. It was the first time in his career that he managed to reach the front row in MotoGP.
Everything looked good for the race but, while he was on the far right of the track, Danilo moved completely to the left and was going to crash hard into Marc Marquez who started from the second row with the fourth time. Although unbalanced, the reigning World Champion managed not to fall, but we were clearly not far from a catastrophe.
Petrucci thus found himself eleventh in the first corner, then he completed the first lap in eighth position. He doubled Alvaro Bautista then Aleix Espargaro. By the fifth and sixth laps, he was the fastest driver in the race, which allowed him to catch up with and then overtake Jorge Lorenzo. Then fifth, he came back to Jonas Folger, from whom he took fourth position on the twentieth lap, and the place of first independent. Dani Pedrosa and the third step of the podium were in sight when Danilo crashed, having asked a little too much of his worn tires at the end of the race.
For Danilo Petrucci, “I went to see the Race Direction. They gave me a warning for contact with Marquez. I tried to recover but never managed to get back into the top three, although in the end I was able to pass Folger to move into fourth place.
“I thought I could overtake Pedrosa to get another podium, but I felt the rear tire starting to go down. I tried changing maps, but things didn't improve.
“I tried to resist but I couldn't accelerate anymore. Maybe I attacked a little too early to come back. I was there with them another time but I made a mistake. »
Below, Danilo came to apologize to Marc Marquez for the departure incident (photo Repsol Honda Team)
Race ranking:
1- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP
2- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 3.544
3- Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda Team - Honda RC213V - + 6.774
4- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 9.608
5- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 13.838
6- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 13.921
7- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 16.763
8- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 20.821
9- Hector Barbera – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 23.952
10- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 24.189
11- Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda – Honda RC213V – + 28.329
12- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP15 – + 33.281
13- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 35.200
14- Karel Abraham – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP15 – + 39.436
15- Tito Rabat – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 40.872
16- Andrea Iannone – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 43.221
17- Sylvain Guintoli – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 44.655
18- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 48.993
19- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 55.492
World Championship :
1 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 111 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 104
3 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 88
4 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 84
5 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 83
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 75
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 59
8 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 51
9 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 45
10 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 42
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 34
12 Scott REDDING-Ducati 33
13 Jack MILLER-Honda 30
14 Loris BAZ-Ducati 23
15 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 21
16 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 21
17 Tito RABAT-Honda 19
18 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 17
19 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 11
20 Michele PIRRO-Ducati 7
21 Alex RINS-Suzuki 7
22 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 6
23 Bradley SMITH-KTM 6
24 Sam LOWES-Aprilia 2
25 Sylvain GUINTOLI-Suzuki 1
Photos © Pramac Racing
