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MotoGP, Petrucci: “Happy about the race, but my engine continues to struggle”

“Since Austria I’m not able to be fast on the straight. I couldn’t keep up with Bagnaia today. The first round? Pol slowed down, and I touched him. I’m sorry Dovizioso also ended up falling.”

MotoGP: Petrucci: “Happy about the race, but my engine continues to struggle”

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Finishing eigth during the Catalan weekend, Danilo Petrucci certainly has a reason to smile. The step forward the rider from Terni took compared to the first races of the season is evident, as he himself confirmed, even if  there' s an urgency towards finding a solution to an important problem.

 “I'm happy with how the race went,"  Danilo stated. "First of all, because of how I handled the tires. The main problem I had, however, concerns the engine, since I've never been fast on the straight, and I suffered a lot when overtaking. I tried to fight back at Turn five, but it was really risky. Besides that, I've returned to occupy a good position, which gratifies me.”

 Danilo delves into the engine topic,  which has always been the Desmosedici's ace in the hole.

It's been since Austria that I haven't been as fast on the straight as last year. I don't know what the problem is, but I also struggled trying to stay in Bagnaia's slipstream today, and many passed me. Last year I needed the engine here, while today it was a weak point.”

Besides all that, it's impossible not to mention what happened at Turn 2 on the first lap, with Petrucci who involuntarily (minimally) involved  in the accident that led to Andrea Dovizioso's fall.

 “Pol slowed down a lot at Turn 2. I didn't have time to brake, so I hit him with the front wheel or the fairing.  As a result, my steering locked, but luckily I was straight enough and didn't fall, while  Zarco got scared and ended up falling.  I'm sorry that Andrea also ended up falling, but I don't think I'm at fault. We often had tire temperature problems at that turn, since it's the first left corner after many right ones.

But Petrucci can still look positively towards the future,  having probably taken the right path towards improvement.

"This year, it's as if I've already changed bikes,  since changing the frame has changed the bike a lot. But since Misano I realized that it was necessary to work differently, and now I have to continue like this: I'm sorry I wasn't competitive in the first part of the season, but now we can make further progress.

 

Translated by Leila Myftija
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