It was one of the best races of his life that Petrucci completed at Misano, ultimately losing very narrowly to an extraordinary Marc Marquez at the end of the race. Danilo achieved a superb feat in very difficult circumstances, which allowed him to move up to seventh position in the provisional World Championship ranking.
The weekend had already started particularly well for Petrux, who set the best time during the first day of free practice, in the dry. This already indicated a good adaptation to the circuit with the Desmosedici GP17. Danilo finished free practice on Saturday in third position, then only obtained eighth place in qualifying, which was a slight disappointment for him.
The warm up brought a smile back to his face, when he achieved the second time behind already a certain Marc Marquez. In the race, he got off to a good start which propelled him into sixth position at the end of the first lap. He then doubled Cal Crutchlow and Maverick Vinales before joining Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez in pursuit of Jorge Lorenzo.
Petrucci overtook Dovizioso then Marquez, and took command on the seventh lap after the fall of leader Lorenzo. He remained in the lead throughout the race, until Marquez managed to overtake him on the very last lap and take the victory away from him. But despite the disappointment, Petrucci could be proud of his superb Grand Prix, at the level of the best. He thus equaled his second place at Assen and reached the podium for a third time this year, with his third place previously obtained at Mugello.
For Danilo Petrucci, “ My feelings are mixed. Of course, I'm happy to be back on the podium in Italy. This is my third podium this year, but I led the race for many laps. I was a little worried, because in the morning we already realized that the track was very slippery in some turns.
“When I was in the lead after Jorge's crash, I tried to push harder, but eight laps before the end I took a very big risk in the sixth corner. I thought Marc was probably going to overtake me. But I realized that Marc was too smart to do the management job. That’s why I tried to stay ahead.
“Two laps before the end, I attacked again, but Marc was exceptional in the last corner of the penultimate lap, then overtook me in turn 1. I tried to pass him again in the turn 4 when he went a little wide. But I lost the front and I was only able to catch it because I'm a good driver. I held the bike with my knee.
“On the last lap, I was still too far away. I tried, but his last trick was incredible. I'm a little sad to be second, but I don't regret anything because I tried throughout the race. Marc did an incredible last lap. He deserved the victory.
“I have to be honest. Yes, I thought about helping Dovizioso. I hoped Andrea was close to me. But I am also convinced that Andrea can fight for the title without my help. I would be happy if I can be important for him in the next race.
“Even though I was thinking about it, I tried to pass Márquez in the third sector of the last lap. I saw him take a big risk. That's why I speculated that he might be in trouble on a curve and I might catch him. But he was not wrong. »
Grand Prix ranking:
1- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V
2- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 1.192
3- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 11.706
4- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 16.559
5- Michele Pirro – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 19.499
6- Jack Miller – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 24.882
7- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 33.872
8- Alex Rins – Team Suzuki ECSTAR – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 34.662
9- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 54.082
10- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 57.964
11- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 1’00.440
12- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 1’17.356
13- Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda – Honda RC213V – + 1’35.588
14- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 1’38.857
15- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 2'02.212
16- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP at 1 lap
17- Karel Abraham – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP at 1 lap
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 199 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 199
3 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 183
4 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 157
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 150
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 110
7 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 95
8 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 92
9 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 90
10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 84
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 62
12 Scott REDDING-Ducati 54nzo
13 Jack MILLER-Honda 53
14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 43
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 39
16 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 33
17 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 31
18 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 28
19 Alex RINS-Suzuki 27
20 Tito RABAT-Honda 27
21 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 23
22 Michele PIRRO-Ducati 18
