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Fourth in the morning and fourth in the afternoon. This is the summary of Danilo Petrucci's Australian free practice on Friday. Coming out of the tests more than satisfied and convinced that he had found himself on the right track, in the first weekend of the season the Terni rider instead found himself struggling with less than optimal feelings.
"I'm not so happy. I was bothered by the wind and I noticed less grip than at the beginning of the week," he said, "I think Bulega showed his true pace today and I think he is unbeatable. I personally only used one tyre, but the test times didn't come. We'll see tomorrow. Let's say I'm really scared of the wind. Being tall and big I resist it. I especially suffer it at the last corner, as I struggle to enter and the bike stays very high in front. That's why my feedback is three/four tenths worse than on Monday and Tuesday. However, we are there. I will try to keep an eye on Nicolò, while I expect a battle with Iannone, Bautista, Razgatlioglu and maybe Lowes. If in the tests I had easily managed to lap in the low 1'29s, in these first two sessions it wasn't possible for me. Maybe the temperatures were lower, but Andrea, for example stayed on those levels. Now we'll have to figure out why we didn't."
How will you deal with the flag to flag?
"It will be important to understand when to stop so you don't get traffic. Eventually the tyres last, so the unknown factor is not so much when to pit, but how many people are in the pits."
Can an aggressive approach help?
"This track has many trajectories, so on the podium, tomorrow and Sunday, the one who takes the most risks will go up the field. At the moment on paper Bulega is the favorite, while it will be a tussle between second and sixth place. Iannone usually does well here because it is a track that suits his characteristics. He is a brave rider who lets the bike go a lot and I think he will want to be with Nicolò. Up front we are all packed together within a tenth, so as a result the grip of the front tyre will also count a lot, as we have noticed that it changes quite a bit depending on how you use it and warm it up. It will be like a penalty shootout decided on the last lap."
Will the tactic be to attack at the start?
"I will try, as of today Bulega can be stopped on the first lap, then I don't know because he has at least four to five tenths of advantage over the others. I think already the second lap is too late."
Are there any good sections to overtake?
"It's tricky because you brake in two places that are not easy, however the track lends itself to battles as you can cross paths and thanks to the curves you give the rider the opportunity to interpret a lot, however in this case it will be hard as everyone is very close."
Have you noticed a performance difference with the others?
"The only one is Nicolo. He never seems to push, but then you can't keep up with him. He looks very good and effective. He has the bike on its axis and always rides very clean. I remember the first time I came here. I saw Stoner on the RCV. He never kept the wheels straight and was always sideways under braking and acceleration."
