Petrucci has changed creameries for this 2021 season. It has gone from red to orange and in terms of ambiance all the indicators are green. The former Ducati official, who won two Grands Prix on the Desmosedici, now finds himself on the KTM RC16 within a Tech3 team known for its warm atmosphere. It remains to get used to this new machine, a challenge still to be met if we are to believe the latest tests of the offseason. But the other KTMs were not celebrating at Losail…
Precisely, it is the same circuit which will host the first two Grands Prix of the 2021 season of MotoGP. This is not a priori good news, but Hervé Poncharal, the team boss Tech3, hopes that the engineers of KTM will have studied the data delivered during the five days of testing in Mattighofen to come back with solutions that will change the game.
Despite these questions, Petrucci wants to see things on the bright side. For him, the recent tests carried out at the Losail international circuit have given positive feedback, even if there is still a lot of work to do. However, the harmony with the team is excellent and this bodes well for “Petrux”.
Petrucci: “I really like motorcycling, but I still need to discover it”
« I am obviously very happy to start this new adventure with KTM and Tech3 Racing » said the Italian. “ We will start this new season with two races in Qatar. During recent tests we realized that the road will be long, because the bike is new to me. I feel good, I really like the bike, but I still need to discover it ».
He finishes : " no matter what, I want to be competitive from the first race, so I look forward to continuing my work with my team. Of course it won't be easy, but it's difficult for everyone. I feel ready and can't wait to ride my KTM again ».
On the statistical side, Petrucci made his MotoGP debut in 2012 in Qatar, where he did not finish the race due to mechanical problems.
He withdrew from racing again in 2013 due to mechanical issues, having completed 12 laps. In 2014, he reached the end of the race in Qatar for the first time in 14th position. He did not compete in the 2016 Qatar GP after injuring his right hand during pre-season testing. In 2017, he retired from racing again due to mechanical failure, this time after 14 laps. In 2019, he qualified and finished in sixth position, having chosen front and rear soft tires.
MotoGP Qatar: timetables
Friday 26 March :
11:45 a.m.: Free practice 1 Moto3
12:45 a.m.: Free practice 1 Moto2
13:40 p.m.: Free practice 1 MotoGP
16:10 a.m.: Free practice 2 Moto3
17:05 a.m.: Free practice 2 Moto2
18:00 p.m.: Free practice 2 MotoGP
Saturday March, 27 :
11:20 a.m.: Free practice 3 Moto3
12:20 p.m.: Free practice 3 Moto2
13:15 p.m.: Free practice 3 MotoGP
15:15 p.m.: Moto3 qualifying
16:25 p.m.: Moto2 qualifying
17:20 p.m.: Free practice 4 MotoGP
18:00 p.m.: MotoGP qualifying
Sunday 28 March :
13:35 p.m.: Warm up Moto3
14:10 p.m.: Warm up Moto2
14:40 p.m.: MotoGP warm-up
16:00 p.m.: Moto3 race
17:20 p.m.: Moto2 race
19:00 p.m.: MotoGP race
