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MotoGP, Petrucci: “I expected to battle with Zarco and Crutchlow”

Danilo: "I was unable to manage the tyres, plus when Iannone overtook me it made me go wide and lose positions"

MotoGP: Petrucci: “I expected to battle with Zarco and Crutchlow”

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And to think that the February tests had left a smile on his face. For the race weekend, on the other hand, the music changed for Danilo Petrucci, forced to settle for a ninth-place finish between light and dark ahead of Jack Miller.

It was a difficult race – Danilo began – At the mid-race point I even managed to get close to the lead group, but I wasn’t able to maintain that pace. I think that the leaders were riding in a more relaxed way, whereas I was not. In fact, I had to push for the entire race, plus, if I am tenth on the first lap, closing the gap becomes complicated.

Petrucci makes no bones about admitting the difficulties of the weekend.

It was a race below expectations – he admitted – My goal was to stay in the top five, in other words with Cal and Zarco, and I might even have had the pace to do it. Unfortunately, I lost positions after Iannone overtook me, since I was forced to go wide and then Bautista passed me.”

There is great disappointment on the Italian’s face.

Unfortunately, we lost a few points in the battle between the independents, despite being able to get past Iannone and Miller in the finale – he concluded – In fact, here in Buriram, we struggled with the tyres, especially in the finale, due to the high temperatures.”

As we mentioned, the Italian finished ahead of Jack Miller

“It was a great race and I had fun – the Australian said – Unfortunately, I suffered with the left side of the tyre, particularly on turn five, where I had poor grip. At 15 laps from the end, I managed to get close to the leading group, even battling with Danilo and Iannone.”

So, Miller sees the glass half full.

“Buriram was a good test for Malaysia, especially given the heat – he concluded – First we go to Japan where I’ll work to be competitive.”

Translated by Jonathan Blosser
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