Danilo Petrucci began to transform into a real holder of an official handlebar during the first part of the season which put him among the Grand Prix winners. Then it gradually died out, a regression that this second half of the year exacerbates in a worrying way. In Great Britain, Petrux was not there and here he is on his way to Misano having been knocked out of the championship trio by Rins. Will the local air for the San Marino Grand Prix be invigorating?
This is a question to which Danilo Petrucci ardently wishes to answer in the affirmative. Because in the Ducati clan, it's rather Jack Miller who is responsible for playing more and more second Dovizioso. Nevertheless, Petrux took the points from seventh place to Silverstone, despite having lost a lot from the start of the race following the accident between Quarterly et Dovizioso. A ranking which puts him first among Ducati riders… “ Miller and I probably lost the most in the first turn due to the incident » remembers Petrux. “ I'm really sorry for Dovi, who had to suffer another hard blow – physically and morally – because he only lost points when he was knocked to the ground by another driver ". It is true that this was also the case in Catalonia with the pileup initiated by Jorge. Lorenzo, which cost not only Dovizioso, But also Casa Particular in Viñales et Red.
« I was impacted because I was tenth at the first corner and 14th at the end of the first lap. I had to go back a lot. But as soon as I had the way clear, my pace was good for the top 5 », summarized the winner of the Mugello on his race to Silverstone. " I caught up with Crutchlow, I missed time to pick up Rossi and Morbidelli. We had the potential to fight with them. But of course I can't believe that I'm going to play top 5 when I start from eleventh place on the grid. If nothing had happened, I might have managed to catch up with them. But if you have ten drivers in front of you, it can happen that they hang on ».
« The main problem with my bad races this year is that I often make mistakes in qualifying. I'm going to have to improve if I want to fight for the podium again » said the Ducati factory rider, who lost third place to Alex Rins (Suzuki).
« But I must say that despite my seventh place, I am satisfied with my second half of the race. I personally achieved my best lap of the race, the fifth best overall, on the penultimate lap. In this lap I was the fastest »Petrux emphasized. “ It's strange to say that I'm satisfied, but the speed is there and I have regained confidence. Above all, I understand what I need when it's very hot ».
The trials of Misano, which will last two days next week, are a good thing for the 28-year-old Italian, after three consecutive disappointing results: “ we understand that I have to use my extra weight to steer the bike in a different way. I also have a fairly aggressive riding style and when the grip decreases I always have a little more difficulty ».
Petrucci continues: “ often I'm in the top three on Saturday morning – and then it becomes a disaster in the afternoon. I need to figure out how I can ride a motorcycle differently. I always want to do more – but this aggressiveness often gets me into trouble when there is a lack of grip. With good grip I am very strong. But in the afternoon it is generally warmer than in the morning ».
The Ducati factory rider is combative: “ I want to take these last ten laps, which were good for the top 5, to understand, and especially what we have to work on in Misano. We have a lot of ideas, so we have to examine the conditions we find. But I want to fight for the podium again in Misano He said.
