It’s Danilo Petrucci aware of his mission for Ducati who spoke at the microphone of MotoGP.com. Being in the good books of Borgo Panigale sometimes requires some sacrifices in the short term, but dedication remains an investment for the rest of your career. Last year, he won the right to enjoy the GP17 for this season. A poisoned gift? From the outset, it seems so. And yet…
After five Grand Prix contested, Danilo Petrucci riding the GP17 is eleventh in the championship with 26 points scored. Meanwhile, his teammate within the Pramac team, Scott Redding, has the same number of points as him with a GP16. A situation which does not move more than that at Ducati since the thirteenth overall is none other than Loris Baz with… A GP15!
A situation that the man nicknamed Petrux comments on: “ on the track, we still have two machines that are two years old with the GP15s of Baz and Abraham. Often these are faster than Yamahas or Hondas. This means we have a two-year head start when it comes to engines. ". A mechanical strong point which is not the only one: “ we have a very very good engine but also very good electronicse ”.
Two advantages which, however, are not enough to subscribe to the outposts. The official drivers are suffering while Danilo has never done better than seventh place this season. But the Italian who will be in front of his audience this weekend at Mugello specifies that his situation is special: “ our job is to continue the development of the 2017 machine. It's a sort of laboratory where Ducati can work on my machine without disturbing the two factory riders. The bike has evolved, but the difference is minimal compared to last season ».
A similarity which brought with it the recurring faults of the previous generation. But the reflection continues: “ we are talking with Gigi Dall'Igna to build something different about the chassis, swingarm or whatever. We can solve many problems through electronics, but sometimes the structure of the motorcycle needs to be modified. We persevere to achieve something differentt. »
A speech that could almost be described as radical. When will we see a truly different Desmosedici? To believe Petrucci, it's in progress...
