“Tomorrow I’ll read the papers and find out that I’m 2.“. Danilo Petrucci can’t quite celebrate his podium in Assen. Today he knew and believed that he could win. In the last few laps he had planned his attack on Valentino, but things turned out differently.
“On the penultimate lap I found Barbera, who left me no room, and Rins in Turn 6. We touched and almost fell – he says – I shouldn’t say it, but the Spaniards in the security commission always break our balls with us Rules and then they are the first to not follow them. The marshals didn’t wave the blue flags, and I know Alex asked me to apologize, but when you’re driving so slowly on rain tires you have to be careful. “
In the heat of the moment, Danilo sees the last round as a lost opportunity.
“Valentino was faster than me in the dry, but under these conditions I was able to attack him – he continues – I had already made it 4 laps before the end when I came out of Turn 12. At this point the Ducati let me accelerate better. ”. I had everything ready and then the castle crumbled. I found myself 3 or 4 tenths away from Rossi. I recovered there, but I couldn’t attack him. “
In thinking, Petrucci finally finds his sense of humor.
“At the end of the day that’s a great result for me, but I really saw the win that close. In the end, just like yesterday in qualifying, there is always something that annoys me – he smiles – but in the last few races I’ve always been a contender and that’s important. I used to feel fast but the results weren’t coming, while lately I’ve been able to score on almost every shot. “
The Italian is no longer a surprise and his hard work is bearing the hoped-for fruits.
“I’m happy to have improved my race management, because everyone said that I was not used to being ahead – he emphasizes – When you’re up against the best, big names that have won races and championships when I’ve never done, it’s pretty satisfying to keep up with them.”
In the overall standings he is even ahead of Lorenzo.
“And without these two mishaps in the first races, I could be even further ahead – he says regretfully – but we’re only halfway through the season and I’m on the right track. The Ducati is proving to be the bike at its best and my Desmosedici is very similar to those of Dovi and Jorge. In MotoGP, however, one in ten makes a difference. Today it would have been enough to lose 5 seconds in 26 laps and you were off the podium. That means that you cannot make any mistakes. “
The results are a nice foundation to build on and Petrux certainly doesn’t want to stop when things get good.
“At Ducati, I feel like part of a company. There’s a lot of me in this bike. After Barcelona I went to Borgo Panigale to celebrate and felt like part of a strong project – he remembers – Andrea, Jorge and I are three fast drivers and I am happy with the work we are doing. “
He doesn’t have to wait long for confirmation. The German GP is only a few days away.
“Last year I did my best qualifications in the dry, but I made a mistake in the race. My Ducati stopped in Assen after it was ahead in the wet and in Germany I wanted to humiliate everyone. “
What can we expect this year?
“I could even try to win at the Sachsenring“, He laughs … the anger is already dissipating.
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