Petrucci is surprised to have finished only 2.4s off on his return to MotoGP in ThaiGP practice, having felt he would even struggle to qualify for the race going into the weekend.
The double MotoGP race winner is making his return to the series with Suzuki as 2020 world champion Mir continues to recover from the ankle he broke in Austria in August.
Friday marked the first time Petrucci rode a Japanese bike in MotoGP and his first inline-four-cylinder engine since the Ioda BMW-powered Suter he raced in 2013. “I missed the time attack, but it’s ok just because this morning I was so happy I was not last and this afternoon I felt I could have finished one second from the fastest, 1.3s,” Petrucci said.
“For sure I need to know the bike, the team needs to know me because compared to the other riders I’m quite different in weight and size.“I thought I was slower than I was, so I though this morning when I saw it was not raining I said ‘I will be disqualified for the race’, and in the end I was just two seconds from the lead and more or less the position I ended last year!”Petrucci added that had he raced a Suzuki in 2021, he would have been less likely to have called time on his MotoGP career.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Petrucci “thought I was slower than I was” in Thailand MotoGP return🗣️ 'I thought I was slower than I was' Danilo Petrucci explains why he expected to be slower in practice on his first MotoGP outing as Joan Mir’s Suzuki replacement at the ThaiGP ⬇️
Read more »
‘Emotional’ Petrucci: I’d have swum the pacific to ride this Suzuki!Danilo Petrucci dashed across the world after the MotoAmerica season finale to ride a Suzuki at this weekend’s Thailand MotoGP.
Read more »
Petrucci “thought I was slower than I was” in Thailand MotoGP return🗣️ 'I thought I was slower than I was' Danilo Petrucci explains why he expected to be slower in practice on his first MotoGP outing as Joan Mir’s Suzuki replacement at the ThaiGP ⬇️
Read more »
‘Emotional’ Petrucci: I’d have swum the pacific to ride this Suzuki!Danilo Petrucci dashed across the world after the MotoAmerica season finale to ride a Suzuki at this weekend’s Thailand MotoGP.
Read more »