Spanish Grand Prix, Jerez, MotoGP, J1: Danilo Petrucci leader ahead of Marc Márquez by a hundredth

Danilo Petrucci, fifth in the provisional general classification with 30 points and current teammate of Andrea Dovizioso in the factory team, is seriously threatened by Jack Miller who is only a tiny point behind him in the standings, in sixth position with 29 points. The two men are competing for the place of Dovi's teammate next season within the official Ducati team and Petrux took a clear advantage this Friday.

During the first free practice session on Friday morning, Danilo held fifth position for a long time in 1'38.828. A quarter of an hour from the end, Petrux impressed by moving into second place in 1'38.653, 0.365 behind leader Marc Marquez. He was then under the lap record established in 1'38.735 by Jorge Lorenzo (then on Movistar Yamaha) in 2015. Under the checkered flag, Danilo finished eighth in 1'38.474, 0.553 behind leader Marc Marquez. He was only 0.010 behind seventh-placed Jack Miller.

One of the important questions concerned the tires due to the new surface at Jerez. According to Piero Taramasso (Two-wheel Manager, Michelin Motorsport), “ This weekend the track has been re-surfaced a lot since our tests last November. For this reason, we are allowed to offer four front and four rear slick tires. We selected a range based on the information we collected last year, that provided by the project manager and by the circuit. We are confident ". And there was good reason because the times achieved on Friday morning were excellent.

Petrucci hits hard

After a few minutes in FP2, Petrucci set the provisional best time of the afternoon in 1'38.204, an excellent start to the session. He was overwhelmed by Marc Máask in 1'38.154, and closely followed by his teammate Andrea Dovizioso, third, 0.2 behind his two predecessors.

A quarter of an hour from the end, Petrux was 0.05 behind the best time in FP2 of Máask. Then he took the lead in 1'37.909 just three minutes from the checkered flag. Then the session was interrupted by the red flag two minutes from the end, when Bradley Smith and Karel Abraham fell (separately and without seriousness) in Turn 5. Petrucci avoided the massacre by voluntarily going out while riding on the outside runoffs. After the interruption, the Race Direction decided not to cancel the remaining 2'42 and briefly opened the track to the competitors.

Petrucci finished the day magnificently in first position in 1'37.909, ahead of Márquez and its 1'37.921. They preceded Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, two Ducatis fighting against three Hondas.

For Danilo Petrucci, “ I'm happy with how this first day of testing went. I didn't do a perfect lap, but it was enough to finish in the lead, and I was pretty competitive, especially in terms of pace.”

“We modified the bike very little, found a good rhythm also with the hard rear tire, but FP4 will be crucial tomorrow to finalize the choice of tires for the race.”

“Qualifying has been my weak point since the start of the year, so we will stay on our guard. I think tomorrow morning the lap times will drop again, but in the meantime we're off to a good start: our goal is to qualify on the first two rows of the grid, then fight for the podium on Sunday ».

What if it's hot during the race?

“When it’s hot, it’s not good for me. However, I have worked hard this year to adapt to such conditions. My problem has always been that the rear tire overheated towards the end of the race. “That’s why I now move a lot more on the bike and don’t ride in a lean position in long, fast corners.”

“I don’t know if I can keep my pace over the distance of the race. If it's as hot as Friday afternoon, you need to make sure you're fast at the end of the race, even if the rear tire lacks grip ».

In the past, Ducati has always struggled at Jerez.

“The Ducati wasn't so bad here last year, although Marquez's lead was big.”

“We can't ride like the guys from Honda or Suzuki. We have our strengths and must seek to eliminate the weaknesses. For example, turning the corner with the brake.

“On the brakes we are strong and on the acceleration, but we have to drive the bikes differently. As we proved today, the bike works well – but it's only Friday. Saturday after FP4, we will know where we are.”

Ranking of the first day of free practice:

Reference times:

Test record: 1'37.653 by Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) in 2018

Lap record: 1'38.735 by Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) in 2015

Best top speed: 295,9 km/h for Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) in 2015

Provisional ranking of the World Championship:

1 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 54 points

2 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 51

3 Alex RINS-Suzuki 49

4 Marc MÁRQUEZ-Honda 45

5 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 30

6 Jack MILLER-Ducati 29

7 Takaaki NAKAGAMI-Honda 22

8 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 19

9 Pol ESPARGARÓ-KTM 18

10 Fabio QUARTARARO-Yamaha 17

11 Franco MORBIDELLI-Yamaha 16

12 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 14

13 Aleix ESPARGARÓ-Aprilia 13

14 Francesco BAGNAIA-Ducati 9

15 Joan MIR-Suzuki 8

16 Miguel OLIVEIRA-KTM 7

17 Jorge LORENZO-Honda 7

18 Andrea IANNONE-Aprilia 6

19 Johann ZARCO-KTM 5

20 Tito RABAT-Ducati 1

Video: The top 5 this Friday

Photos © Ducati / motogp.com / Dorna