English
Italiano
Danilo Petrucci knew it wouldn't be easy to get back on track riding Barni's Panigale in Misano after the terrible motocross accident, but Petrux definitely wanted to try and all in all it didn't even go badly. In fact, today Danilo ended the first day with the 15th fastest time, collecting just one second from the best reference of the day, which belongs to Toprak.
But if speed is not a problem, what instead seems to be the main problem is pain. Danilo is in fact shattered at the end of this Friday in Misano and does not seem at all sure he can carry through the whole race weekend, leaving any decision to tomorrow morning. It will indeed be important for Petrucci to understand how he will feel as soon as he wakes up, because the stresses to which he has subjected his shoulder are likely to present the bill.
"It's hard to explain what you feel in the saddle when you have so much pain ,"Danilo explained, " I was hoping to feel less pain. This morning it wasn't bad when I started, but lap after lap it became more and more difficult for me to brake, especially when I felt twinges of pain. Something that gave me a headache, feeling tired and sick. The feeling on the bike wasn't bad, but I didn't really feel confident on the bike, and not because I was missing anything. It's just that I feel pain in every corner and that leads me to be constantly in a state of alertness, so I'm too stiff on the bike. It's just the first day, maybe it will be better tomorrow, but honestly I don't know if I can run all three races."
Besides your shoulder, do you have any other problems?
"My shoulder just hurts, that's the problem while riding. It's not easy to try to make it easy, because when you're on the bike at first and you feel good you're inclined to go. But then when the pain comes...it's a feeling I haven't had in a long time, it's not good."
You wouldn't have imagined yourself in such pain.
"Yesterday morning I felt great, that's the thing. The more I ride though, the more trouble I'm in. If I wake up tomorrow morning worse than I did this morning, maybe I'll decide to stop. But at least I'll try to do Superpole and after that I think I'll try Race1 as well. But I don't want to make it worse than it is now, because I want to get to Donington in good condition. For me it's just a test here, because if you don't get back on the bike you can't tell how you're really doing. I rode for three days in Mandalika last week and I didn't feel all this pain. Maybe with a standard bike, with less power than this one, less incisive brakes, I felt less pain. In any case it was important to try it here for me and for the team."
Had you suffered similar pain on a motorcycle before?
"I remember once I had returned to Le Mans after breaking my hand, and I broke my hand again by simply riding the bike. The plate broke while I was on the motorcycle. Not the same situation, here I wanted to come back at my best. On the bone level everything is well in place, only there is an inflammatory state in the shoulder area that the more I strain it, the worse I make it. I didn't take any painkillers this morning though, then pushing at the end of the shift I was really sore. I'm in a not good overall state, feeling too stiff because I know I can't fall. Turning two seconds slower doesn't make sense though. I think it's a situation where whatever you do wrong. Maybe I wasn't wrong to stay home, but I didn't want to be left with the doubt that I didn't try."
Automatic Translation by DeepL
