Danilo Petrucci gave himself the means during testing sessions and qualifying to do well for the three races scheduled for the fifth round of the WSBK championship in Misano. During these competitions, he did indeed make a name for himself, but not in the way hoped for. He crashed in race 1 on Saturday while fighting for the podium with Razgatlioglu then black Sunday arrived, with a collision, followed by a violent accident and in the middle a penalty and injuries... A scenario that he regrets all the more that he does not validate his interpretation by the commissioners…
An annoyance that comes from the start of the season with a Alex Lowes taking away Loris Baz's leg in Mandalika. Comparison is not reason, they say, but for Danilo Petrucci, it is at least one way to challenge the discernment of the commissioners who sanctioned him with a long lap after a stampede at the start of the Superpole Race, including the two pilots GRT Yamaha have collateral victims. A punishment which then led to damaging consequences on the rest of the events for the pilot Barni Ducati ...
On a Sunday that he would nevertheless like to forget, he recounts GP One : " when these things happen with Alex Lowes they don't say anything, when I do them they give me a Long Lap without even thinking » commented Petrux who gives his opinion on the facts: “ in my opinion, race 2 was conditioned by a very hasty choice by the Stewards, because I have never seen Long Lap given for accidents on the first lap, when there was no place. I did not do anything wrong. I'm sorry for Aegerter, but I didn't even see him fall because he was behind. The whole Sunday was conditioned by this penalty, which, in my opinion, was unjustified ».
Danilo Petrucci: “ by braking earlier, the bike throws me to the ground and by braking later, it escapes me »
Because once he had completed his punishment during the race, he found himself behind a fighting group made up of the two Honda riders lecuona et Virgin et alex lowes. The rest is told by the Italian: “ Virgo passed Lecuona, I went a little wide, I was on the inside, he closed and I hit Lecuona. I'm really sorry that he was hurt and I was hurt a lot too. I have a big hematoma on the femoral head and it compromised the whole race 2 a little ».
« This race was a little slower, but I can't overtake with this bike,” Petrucci said. In race 1, by braking earlier, the bike threw me to the ground and on Sunday, by braking later, the bike got away from me. We still have to find a configuration that I like » explained Petrux. “ I don't have much traction, I'm at the limit, so I did the whole race behind Locatelli and we also caught Virginie in the last laps. I was fast in qualifying and I was also fast in the race, so I'm really sorry for how the weekend went, because in three races, a podium could have been there ».
A disappointment which adds to the doubts already expressed about his future in WSBK due to his body shape, which would however be well suited to the rally raids with which he seems to fall in love again... " I'm thinking of doing the Dakar in January. It depends, because it's not a two-week commitment. You have to start again the month before, when the championship ends, and it's difficult to start all over again ". The fact remains that he is almost preparing his succession… “ I spoke to Andrea Iannone and we discussed a lot of things. We did a lot of shopping together and it was nice to talk again. I told him to come back, he would like to, and it would be good to see him here again ».
