Danilo Petrucci does not have an easy start on the KTM. He has difficulty fitting in his height of just over 1m81 and some 80 kilos, a body shape which is not insignificant in MotoGP, the category clearly preferring jockey sizes. However, this did not prevent him from winning two Grands Prix in the last two seasons and finishing just outside the top 5 of the championship in 2019. But it was with a well-known Ducati, while the RC16 is to be discovered and what's more is in a countryside where it no longer necessarily benefits from good tires. Nothing is simple for the valiant Petrux who, however, firmly believes in better days.
In three Grands Prix, Danilo Petrucci records a fall, a procession for a classification out of points and a thinning in the Portugal which allowed him to collect three points. A set which also revealed the same problems: a speed deficit in a straight line, a braking phase to be optimized which spoils the exploitation part of the turns, and an insufficient difference in times between the racing conditions and those for qualifying . Which does a lot and leads to a questioning of the driving style at the same time as in-depth work on the machine.
The pilot Tech3 KTM is well aware of this. He presents his situation thus: “ in Portugal I didn't have a perfect qualification, but we improved a little. I made mistakes in every qualifying round. It was boring. We improved the braking behavior, but the cornering behavior suffered from this configuration. The main problem so far is that with new tires we are not improving enough compared to our opponents when we chase the clock in FP3 or in qualifying. In qualifying I was only 0,4 seconds faster than in free practice with worn hard tires. We must achieve greater differences in the future. I was the only KTM rider to use the hard tires in practice, even for the one fast lap ».
The 30-year-old driver adds about his Portuguese Grand Prix : " we also lost more time in FP4. I was behind Miguel Oliveira in FP4. He took other routes, he knows this track very well, he has always been fast there. I was faster in some places and struggled in others. I need to know the bike better. Sometimes I think I'm at the limit when braking. But when I let off the brakes, I feel too slow when cornering. I need to get more out of the bike. So far I've had more or less the same pace with new and used tires. It helps us in the races ».
Danilo Petrucci: " I am doing my best "
Petrux concludes: “ but if we can't use the extra grip of the new tires we are too far back on the grid. So far I'm not happy with the results. I want to advance at Jerez. We have to manage to use the extra grip of the soft tires and improve my feeling. To do this, we need a setup that better suits my riding style and physique ».
Despite the modest start to the season, the factory driver KTM is confident for the next races: “ I was optimistic even before leaving for Portugal. But I was too slow racing on the straights. That's why I was defenseless. I'm doing my best and I'm finding that I'm quite competitive in some areas. We just have to keep working. We are also looking for a solution that puts less pressure on the front tire. I have years of experience in MotoGP and hope I can help KTM correct some weaknesses ».
Petrucci looking forward to this month of May and the races Mans and Mugellor. « I was the last winner there » he recalls. However, he also knows: “ we still have a lot of work to do ».
At KTM we recognize that the new allocation Michelin who removed one of his favorite hard front tires is causing him harm. Miguel Oliveira plague on this new situation imposed on the RC16. However, we note that Brad Binder still manages to achieve good results in MotoGP, like that of Portugal where he scored a top5, not far from the podium, and even though he started from the second part of the starting grid.
At KTM, we are not abandoning the Italian that we went to get from Ducati. The sports director Pit Beirer thus takes stock of the situation of Danilo Petrucci : " after the race in Portugal we saw from the data that Danilo rides a completely different motorcycle than all our boys due to his body weight. It has a longer wheelbase and harder suspension, because of course it's heavier and bigger. His team leader Sergio Verbena and Danilo requested permission for this installation. But so far it hasn't worked optimally. Our engineers will therefore be involved a lot in the coordination work in Jerez, because we need to offer Danilo a better base.”
“He doesn't feel comfortable on the KTM yet. Of course he will need a stiffer bike than our other MotoGP riders. This of course gives it a completely different weight transfer when accelerating and braking. We will therefore bring him new parts in Jerez, with the help of which he should feel an improvement. The guy obviously doesn't feel comfortable on our bike yet. We must help him. "
