Petrucci is currently in a brilliant phase of his career, recently highlighted by his hard-fought third place ahead of Valentino Rossi at the Italian Grand Prix. In Barcelona, he confirmed his great form by climbing to the front row of the MotoGP starting grid for the first time in his career.
His Catalan weekend started well, when he climbed to fifth position on the first day of free practice, although it was not of much use when everything had to be redone on Saturday morning due to the change in the track of the circuit.
During the third free practice session, he ranked ninth, 0.5 behind Marc Marquez, which was enough to qualify directly for Q2. In FP4, he again obtained ninth position, 0.6 behind Dani Pedrosa.
It was in qualifying that he created the real surprise, snatching a place on the second row for the first time thanks to a magnificent third time, on his GP17 identical to those of Jorge Lorenzo et Andrea Dovizioso. In 1'44.220, he was only 0.3 behind poleman Dani Pedrosa and he was ahead of Marc Marquez by a tenth.
According to Danilo Petrucci, “It was a very good qualification, perhaps even unexpected because the asphalt is not in good conditions because it is very slippery.
“Since yesterday we have been very fast on soft tyres. We will have to improve tomorrow on the race distance. The second half of the race will be really difficult.
“We will start from a better position than at Mugello, so I hope to be able to keep the tires at the start. I want to make a good start to try to stay in the lead. I would like to finish in the top five. »
"It's very nice to see you all again because it means I'm in the press conference!" – #DP9 pic.twitter.com/Vf4kVBRII8
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) June 10, 2017
Qualification results:
1- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 1’43.870
2- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.331
3- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.350
4- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.450
5- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 0.478
6- Hector Barbera – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.511
7- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.581
8- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.730
9- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.750
10- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.870
11- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.982
12- Andrea Iannone – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 1.058
13- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1
14- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1
15- Jack Miller – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V
16- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP15
17- Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda – Honda RC213V
18- Karel Abraham – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP15
19- Tito Rabat – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V
20- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16
21- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP
22- Sylvain Guintoli – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR
Given his past as a Police cadet in Italy, which #MotoGP rider would @Petrux9 most likely arrest? 🚓 pic.twitter.com/NhHG3Ivzra
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) June 10, 2017
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 105 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 79
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 75
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 68
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 68
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 64
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 46
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 42
9 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 41
10 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 40
11 Scott REDDING-Ducati 30
12 Jack MILLER-Honda 30
13 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 25
14 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 21
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 19
16 Tito RABAT-Honda 18
17 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 17
18 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 14
19 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 9
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
