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Petrucci arrived in Sepang with a great desire to put the Phillip Island race behind him, where he finished the race penultimate. However, not everything went as expected on the first day of free practice and there are a few lingering doubts.
If we want to begin with a summary of his performance: “In the event of a wet race, I’ll be able to make a play for the podium. In the dry, on the other hand, I don’t know what I could aim for” Danilo says.
We start, therefore, from the least favourable condition, also considering that the Pramac rider is currently 11th in the combined standings, so he has not gone straight through to Q2.
“I paid the price for a moment of indecision - he explains - I waited too long to leave the garage with the new tyre and I was only able to do one flying lap, so I finished outside the Top Ten. Now I just need to hope that it doesn’t rain tomorrow; otherwise, in the event of a wet Q1, there is always the chance for a few surprises.”
Speaking of rain, Petrucci has a clear idea of his competition.
“Marquez and Dovizioso were playing another sport today. They made the difference, creating abyssal gaps ahead of us mere mortals - he admits - We need to figure out the reason for this gap.”
Danilo talked to us right after a technical meeting with Dall’Igna.
“Gigi told me that Dovi has great grip on the rear, whereas I don’t - he explains - It’s strange, because usually Andrea and I give very similar indications. Plus, thanks to my build, usually I have more traction in the wet than the other riders, but today it was the same. I thought that Dovi and Marquez had used the softest tyre, but they had the same one I did.”
Yesterday Petrucci had said that he hoped to be able to help Andrea.
“In the wet, Ducati is more competitive than the Hondas… except for Marquez’s. If we look at the times today, no one can defend Dovizioso” he admits.
