With no less than 19 riders in less than 8 tenths at the end of the three days of MotoGP testing in Sepang, it seems difficult to think that the latter have already built a solid hierarchy which will last beyond the Malaysian track.
Everything could be called into question from the next tests which will take place in Qatar from February 22 to 24 and this is also what affirms Danilo Petrucci, yet 6th best time at Sepang and author of a honest racing simulation.
In an interview conducted jointly with Alex Rins for the Nolan helmet brand, and reported in different Italian media, the Ducati rider explains : “In the end, there is a ranking, but it is more to get journalists talking than anything else. Last year, if we had based ourselves on the Sepang tests, I should have dominated the GP, because I had the best time and there were four Ducatis in front of everyone at the end of the three days. Then when we came back in October, for whatever reason, it was only Dovizioso who managed to get on the podium, while I rode behind with Miller, taking almost twenty seconds. »
“The reality is you have to test the bike and absolute times are not very meaningful. In any case, it is true that we have to work because at the moment our motorcycle, which is very special, cannot operate the Michelin 2020 correctly. With the single supplier it is like this: it is a good thing for the show because we're all very close, but you have to find a way to make a tire perform well when maybe it's getting better in some ways but getting worse in others. With the 2020 tires, bikes rolling through corners look a bit more advantaged. »
“For Michelin, it is difficult to make a tire that is suitable for all motorcycles. The tire tested at Sepang does not favor Ducati. On the other hand, this compound contributes to the spectacle on the track: at Sepang there were 18 drivers in 8 tenths of a second and the first 10 drivers in 3 tenths: if there had been a race, there would have been a dozen drivers who could have fought for the podium. And that’s what interests the public. For us, however, it is less pleasant to have so many opponents. »
“The evolution of Ducati has been enormous but we know that there is still a lot of work to do, particularly on the management of the Michelins. That said, we're only in the first test, so we have a lot of room for improvement ahead of us. In Misano we tried them with very particular asphalt conditions, in which it was difficult to understand whether certain behaviors came from the rubber or the asphalt, so in fact we were only able to try them thoroughly in Malaysia. And while they seemed better, in Malaysia, instead, we mostly saw excessive degradation, so we need to work and understand them better. The problem is that sometimes, on certain tracks, there is only one tire that works, and you find yourself using the same tire to qualify and then you try to preserve it in the race so that it goes all the way. at the end. That said, in Malaysia there have been several developments that seem promising, so now it's a matter of working on that. »
