Danilo Petrucci did well in a French Grand Prix which never experienced rain, to his great disappointment. Because in these conditions, he could have played better with his talent, more hidden the disadvantages of his corpulence which became a handicap as the competition evolved, and his inexperience in the GP23 would also have been partly gummed. But no matter, Petrux took this weekend as a reward for service rendered to Ducat as well as for all of his work in Borgo Panigale. Because the Italian is seriously questioning whether he still has a future in motorcycle speed…
Danilo Petrucci returned last weekend to a Le Mans track on which he won, in 2020, his second and last victory in MotoGP. He was then also an official pilot Ducati. But the category has changed a lot since that not-so-distant time and as no rain came to its aid, there was no miracle. Qualified 19th, he did what he could in the race, still making a point of dominating the two other reserve drivers Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) and Jonas Folger (GASGAS) both in the Sprint and during the Grand Prix.
« It was like a great gift I received from Ducati ", said Petrucci on the waves of wsbk.com. It will be recalled that he finished his performance in 11th place in the French Grand Prix, almost 30 seconds behind the winner and colleague of the brand. Marco Bezzecchi. Eight drivers also fell in front of him. “ I am proud to have ridden the factory Ducati, the best bike I've ever had in my life. I would like to ride this machine a lot more, but unfortunately that probably won't be the case."
Danilo Petrucci: “ I would like to return to the Dakar to do better, because maybe I have more room to improve there »
The stage winner of Dakar Rally said of the race: “ it was quite difficult because the track didn't really have good grip. But it was fun, I scored some points and improved my pace lap after lap. Apart from the first laps, I lost 0,7 or 0,8 s per lap on the leader, but never more than 1 s. Considering I rode this bike for the first time on Friday, that's good. Thank you Ducati for this great opportunity, I will remember it all my life ».
Petrucci also opened up about his future by expressing doubts about the continuation of his adventure in WSBK… “ I went faster here, relatively speaking, than in the Superbike races. There is something we don't understand. We will have a new meeting with Ducati to try to understand what can be done for WSBK. I see how it goes, but if I lose my enthusiasm, I don't want to continue struggling. I do what I can with serenity. The fact that there is no longer as much room for me on motorcycles due to my build is something I've had to deal with over the last few years. I would like to return to the Dakar to do better, because maybe I have more room to improve there ».
MotoGP France J3: ranking
Credit classification motogp.com
