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Danilo Petrucci's adventure in KTM seems to be coming to an end after just a few months, as in Tech3 there will be no more room for him in 2022. The indiscretion comes from our Speedweek colleagues, who have learned that Raul Fernandez has made his move and, after a bit of hesitation, has decided to move to MotoGP as early as next year. The same path made by Mir and Vinales, both just one year in Moto2, which will allow him to find Remy Gardner again as a teammate in the premier class. It’s a problem for the Ajo team, which has already decided to promote the young phenomenon Pedro Acosta in the intermediate class and will now have to choose a second rider.
While this is relatively a problem for the Finnish team, for Petrucci losing his place in Tech3 might mean him having to abandon MotoGP. In fact, the rider from Terni does not have much choice: it is difficult for him to find a seat in Aprilia which is in talks with Maverick Vinales, with zero chances of Petronas and VR46, two junior teams who want to focus on young riders, being interested.
So what could Danilo's future be? KTM could offer him the role of tester, thus joining Pedrosa, perhaps with some wild cards during the season. Another alternative would be to move to SBK, where a rider like him could suit many teams, Ducati first of all.
As we wait for the official confirmation of Fernandez’s move to MotoGP, disappointment remains over Petrucci’s wasted opportunity, and it’s not just because of him. A lack of tests, due to Covid, made everything more difficult for the Italian rider, who practically had to use the first GPs as tests. Furthermore, the RC16 has proved to be not entirely suitable for his riding style and also for his size, with aerodynamics that penalized him. Another season would have been useful to understand what the Italian-Austrian pairing could have done, but it seems that we will no longer be able to find out.
