Catalan Grand Prix, Barcelona, ​​MotoGP, J1, Danilo Petrucci: “I don’t have the best feelings”

After his unforgettable victory in the Italian Grand Prix at home in Mugello, Danilo Petrucci started his Catalan weekend rather well by completing the first day of free practice in eighth position in 1'40.599, 0.520 behind the leader's best time. El Diablo » Fabio Quartararo.

All day long, we noticed thatAndrea Dovizioso took “Petrux” on his wheel to help him understand this Montmeló circuit which has never been successful for him. Indeed, Danilo's best results in Catalonia in MotoGP are an eighth place in 2018 and two ninth positions in 2015 and 2016, all three times on Ducati Pramac. But Dovizioso needs a fast teammate to help him counter Marc Márquez, the ideal being that if Desmo Dovi wins, Petrucci comes between him and the Spanish champion. On the other hand, Danilo has 82 points after 6 GPs against 115 for Marc, so nothing is decided since there are 13 races remaining and anything can happen in either camp.

Furthermore, what is not important for ordinary fans, but which is enormously important for the brands, is the Manufacturers' World Championship where Honda is currently ahead of Ducati 121 to 115. And there Ducati is counting a lot on Petrucci to score big points like he did at Mugello, where even like Jack Miller by finishing first in the Ducati in Austin.

Petrucci is the only current driver with Cal Crutchlow to have only ridden in Grand Prix in the MotoGP category. Coming from Supersport, the Englishman is in his 145th GP, and the Italian from Superstock is in his 125th. Danilo recently has a victory under his belt, but he has 8 podiums and 2 fastest laps in the race.

According to Danilo, “ This Friday was difficult, especially this morning, when the track was dirty. We didn't know if there was anything wrong with the bike but, sure enough, I was slower than I expected. It was a little better in the afternoon, but we had to make up for lost time by working hard. If I think that during the last three Grand Prix I had a lot of confidence in the Desmosedici, I didn't have much today. The situation was more difficult than usual, but tomorrow we will have a solution. However, I managed to set a good time, thanks to a fast lap in the final. We are in the top ten, close to the top five, even if confidence is not optimal.”

“It was useful to follow Dovizioso, it was something we decided to do during the day. Honestly, the step forward didn't impress me. I can fight for the top five, but I don't have the speed I need every lap. Indeed, I lack grip. The biggest problem is when I brake hard: the tire loses grip and I have a lot of trouble taking corners because the bike slides a lot. However, we have done a good job, we will find positive solutions tomorrow and I think I will be able to stay with the best.”

“In today's MotoGP there is a big difference between staying in the top ten or the top five. To be in the top five, you really have to have everything in place. For me, today, three tenths are missing for the entire lap, which is a trifle if we divide them between one curve and another. I'm not 100%, but I don't have the best feelings. This determined eighth place. It's a bad feeling not being able to control rear wheel grip when the throttle isn't touched. In this case, something must be changed in the geometry of the motorcycle. I have to correct some things, necessary to enter the first two lines of the grid.”

“I have the same goals as always: to fight for the top five, possibly for the podium. The only difference I noticed in Barcelona was that I was slower here than in Mugello. During practice, I didn't have the speed to get on the podium, I hope to find it again tomorrow.”

Results of the first day of free practice:

Reference times:

Test record: 1'38.680 by Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati) in 2018

Lap record: 1'40.021 by Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati) in 2018

Best top speed: 348,8 km/h for Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) in FP2 in 2018

Provisional ranking of the World Championship:

1 Marc MÁRQUEZ – Honda 115 points

2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO – Ducati 103

3 Alex RINS – Suzuki 88

4 Danilo PETRUCCI – Ducati 82

5 Valentino ROSSI – Yamaha 72

6 Jack MILLER – Ducati 42

7 Cal CRUTCHLOW – Honda 42

8 Maverick VIÑALES – Yamaha 40

9 Takaaki NAKAGAMI – Honda 40

10 Pol ESPARGARÓ – KTM 38

11 Franco MORBIDELLI – Yamaha 34

12 Fabio QUARTARARO – Yamaha 31

13 Aleix ESPARGARÓ – Aprilia 27

14 Jorge LORENZO-Honda 19

15 Joan MIR-Suzuki 12

16 Johann ZARCO – KTM 10

17 Michele PIRRO – Ducati 9

18 Francesco BAGNAIA – Ducati 9

19 Miguel OLIVEIRA – KTM 8

20 Andrea IANNONE – Aprilia 7

21 Stefan BRADL – Honda 6

22 Karel ABRAHAM – Ducati 2

23 Hafizh SYAHRIN – KTM 2

24 Tito RABAT – Ducati 2

Video: Dovizioso, Petrucci, Marquez and Zarco

Video: Dovizioso, Petrucci and Pirro discuss their beginnings with each other

Video: Danilo Petrucci filmed in slow motion

Photos © motogp.com / Dorna, teams and manufacturers