MotoGP, Vergani explains that the Petrucci-Suzuki agreement came about in half a day

"Ducati contacted me on Sunday in America before Race 2. It's the fastest negotiation of my career and I don't even know if his leathers will arrive in time for FP1, so he might have to use the MotoAmerica one"

Submitted by Riccardo Guglie... on Tue, 27/09/2022 - 09:59

MotoGP returns to Thailand after a three-year absence and for the occasion it finds an old acquaintance of the Circus. We are talking about Danilo Petrucci, who will get on the Suzuki to replace Joan Mir at the round in Buriram.

Ultra-rapid negotiations that have led Petrux to take part in the Asian round scheduled for the weekend. Explaining to us how things went was his manager Alberto Vergani, whom we got in touch with by telephone shortly before returning to Italy from Alabama.

“This opportunity came about in the last few hours - Alberto told us - on Sunday I was contacted by Paolo Ciabatti, who had spoken to Suppo at Motegi a little earlier. Livio wanted to give Danilo this opportunity to race with the GSX-RR and Ducati was willing enough to give the go-ahead. In this regard, I want to thank Domenicali, Dall’Igna, Ciabatti and Tardozzi, with whom there has always been a great relationship of friendship and mutual esteem ".

You already had negotiations at Misano...

"Exactly. But on that occasion it was right not to race, as we were busy in the final phase of MotoAmerica and Danilo had to focus only on that. Now there is this opportunity with Suzuki and I am very happy for him, since we all know what sort of person Petrux is. "

We can define Petrux-Suzuki as a kind of flash deal.

“Of course, I think it was the fastest of my entire career as a manager. We decided it in half a day. I communicated this to Danilo on Sunday morning, before the race, and this gave him a great boost for Race 2 in Alabama. In the evening, when we then went to dinner with the team at 7:30, he told me that he wanted to go to Thailand. We therefore had to organize everything at the last minute, so much so that I don't know if the leathers will arrive in time or not. I wouldn't be surprised if he did FP1 on Friday morning with the leathers he uses in MotoAmerica (he smiles) ”.

What can we expect from Danilo in Thailand?

“This is a romantic side of motorcycle racing, which makes us appreciate even more what sort of person Danilo is. It will certainly not be an easy challenge for him, but I am convinced that he will not back down and will do everything to look good. Having said that, there are no goals, it is enough for me to see him happy on a motorcycle. As I said, this was a very recent operation, in fact Danilo left for Thailand on Monday and should arrive on Wednesday. In my opinion he will be very jet-lagged (he jokes), seeing as he will have to face more than 24 hours of flight".

Alberto, last week, in Barcelona, ​​the rumours leaked that Danilo could take part in the last races of the season with Team Barni's Ducati V4 in Superbike. Is this true?

"I have read about this news, but at the moment there hasn't been any kind of contact with Barni. I know that between Barnabò and Danilo there is a great relationship, but for now there is nothing. If there was interest, it could be evaluated and understood, but as I said there is nothing ".

MotoAmerica is confirmed for 2023, right?

“We haven't signed yet, as there are some details to sort out. Certainly Danilo left behind some unfinished business in MotoAmerica, despite the challenge with a strong and competitive rider like Gagne and his Yamaha ”.