It’s a Danilo Petrucci more than delighted with his Ducati which completed the first evening of a test at losail which will still have two more. Since joining the official ranks, Petrux has not let go of the top 5. A confidence has been established, boosted by the enthusiasm of happy people who have no history. Fourth after having often been at the top of the timesheet, the teammate of Dovizioso has only one regret: that the race will not take place tomorrow!
The new Ducati rider Ducati, Danilo Petrucci, could barely hide his satisfaction after another good performance on the opening night of testing in Qatar. The Italian led the timesheet on several occasions before arriving in fourth place, behind his teammate Andrea Dovizioso , alex rins on Suzuki and the fastest Maverick Vinales (Yamaha).
« We can have the race tomorrow! No, kidding aside, I'm satisfied. I am constantly in the first places in all the tests since Valencia ", said Petrucci. " I'm happy because I feel good with the bike. We don't have to change it much. Here we need to work on the settings. We already have a good rhythm. Finally, and this is not a joke, we are completely ready ».
However, Petrucci, who would like to take his first MotoGP victory in 2019, warns: “ the problem is tomorrow and Monday, all our challengers will become very, very fast because the track will improve. They will find something. We must continue like this, working. But we have a very good rhythm. It's a very good feeling for me to always stay at the top. I think I found a very good feeling with the bike ».
However, we know that Petrux’s Achilles heel is his tire management: “ we only used one tire. The difference between the new and old tire is not that big. In the end I rode with the same time. I'm quite happy with my pace. Of course we have to improve as always. We can fight for victory, for the podium, but we have to see the race because I think our competitors are stronger than they show. Some of them work more for the race than for the ranking. In two weeks we will know everything. It is certain that we are off to a good start ».
Testing continues Sunday and Monday.
MotoGP, Qatar J1 Test: times
| 1 | 12 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha M1 | 1:55.051 | ||
| 2 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:55.159 | 0.108 | 0.108 |
| 3 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP19 | 1:55.550 | 0.499 | 0.391 |
| 4 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP19 | 1:55.594 | 0.543 | 0.044 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:55.604 | 0.553 | 0.010 |
| 6 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP18 | 1:55.694 | 0.643 | 0.090 |
| 7 | 20 | fabio quartararo | Yamaha M1 | 1:55.772 | 0.721 | 0.078 |
| 8 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda RC213V | 1:55.943 | 0.892 | 0.171 |
| 9 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM RC16 | 1:56.040 | 0.989 | 0.097 |
| 10 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:56.167 | 1.116 | 0.127 |
| 11 | 36 | Joan mir | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:56.264 | 1.213 | 0.097 |
| 12 | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:56.358 | 1.307 | 0.094 |
| 13 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:56.447 | 1.396 | 0.089 |
| 14 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha M1 | 1:56.511 | 1.460 | 0.064 |
| 15 | 63 | Francis Bagnaia | Ducati GP18 | 1:56.738 | 1.687 | 0.227 |
| 16 | 5 | Johann zarco | KTM RC16 | 1:56.770 | 1.719 | 0.032 |
| 17 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM RC16 | 1:56.891 | 1.840 | 0.121 |
| 18 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 1:56.921 | 1.870 | 0.030 |
| 19 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP19 | 1:56.932 | 1.881 | 0.011 |
| 20 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati GP18 | 1:57.053 | 2.002 | 0.121 |
| 21 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Honda RC213V | 1:57.090 | 2.039 | 0.037 |
| 22 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:57.137 | 2.086 | 0.047 |
| 23 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM RC16 | 1:57.459 | 2.408 | 0.322 |
