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MotoGP, Petrucci: "I compromised another race. I'm not going in the afternoon."

The Rider from Terni was 11th in the Silverstone qualifying sessions. "It seems like I only do well in the morning. I don't understand why. Tomorrow's race? I'm starting from behind. It won't be easy."

MotoGP: Petrucci: "I compromised another race. I'm not going in the afternoon."

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Danilo Petrucci won't race. Not only figuratively but also literally. Saturday at Silverstone  emphasized the Ducati GP19's big problem: corners and the front tire. Danilo suffers as soon as the grip decreases, and the 11th position in today's qualifying session, compared to the 5th of the morning's FP3s, is the obvious confirmation. Borgo Panigale, on the other hand, was only half smiling: Miller's third place was a good result, but Dovi and Petrux were struggling on a track where they had a double win last year in qualifying and where, in 2017, Andrea had won.

"As usual, I'm very fast in the morning and slow in the afternoon," said Petrucci. "The only thing I changed was the front tire. I didn't like the hard tire much. It's strange because I was fast this morning. I wasn't doing well enough to fight for the front row, but I was fifth, and it wasn't bad."

What are the problems with this Ducati? 

"The mechanics were amazed, just like I was," Danilo said. "It was difficult to be fast this afternoon because I felt that the front was really too light and not very directional, and it's difficult for me to curve the bike in these conditions."

In fact, it's almost always the same pattern: Danilo pushes hard in the morning, then something goes wrong in the afternoon.

"I also risked falling a couple of times today," continued Petrucci continued. "In Jerez, Aragon, and the Sachsenring, it had already happened. I went well or reached records in the morning, then suffered in qualifying. It's almost almost a habit. I have to figure out what to improve because it's not like I can only race when it's cold."

What are your expectations and chances for tomorrow's race?

"With this qualification, I compromised another race. Anything can happen tomorrow, but starting from so far back is not easy, especially because we should be racing with hot temperatures. I'm pretty good when it comes to pace, but the choice of tires will be difficult. I realized that the medium and the soft will struggle, but it didn't go very well with the hard today."

Audio recorded by Matteo Aglio

Translated by Leila Myftija
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