The weekend will decide whether Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia will become MotoGP world champion for the first time or if Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo will defend his title. Bagnaia is the clear favorite thanks to a 23-point lead, while Quartararo only has outsider chances.
Ducati has never been this close to a MotoGP title since the days of Casey Stoner. “They owe it all to Gigi Dall’Igna,” commented ex-Ducati factory pilot Danilo Petrucci in an interview with “La Gazzetta dello Sport”.
“Andrea Dovizioso and I were often perplexed by how he made us feel. We didn’t understand what he was doing some things for. But a few thousandths of a second here, a few thousandths of a second there and bottom line, those were the tenths of a second that now wins in MotoGP enable,” notes Petrucci, who rode for the Ducati factory team in 2019 and 2020 and won two Grands Prix.
Francesco Bagnaia’s development surprises Danilo Petrucci
But at the end of 2020, Petrucci and Dovizioso had to make way for Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller, who were promoted to the factory team from Pramac. Bagnaia’s rise was particularly critical because he got the place even though he was only 16th at the World Cup in 2020. graduated
“The Ducati has become really good. Pecco has developed into a predator,” notes predecessor Petrucci. “I honestly didn’t expect Pecco to be as consistent as we were. It looked like he had already lost everything in the first part of the season.”
Danilo Petrucci shows sympathy for Fabio Quartararo
Defending champions Quartararo have lost a 91-point lead over Bagnaia over the course of the season. Bagnaia has been by far the strongest driver since the summer break. “It’s like David versus Goliath,” notes Petrucci, looking at the duel Ducati vs. Yamaha.
“He sees himself losing more and more points. Even though he’s doing his best, it’s not enough. It’s normal to feel depressed then,” Petrucci shows sympathy for Quartararo, who hasn’t won a race since the end of the summer break and only finished on the podium in two out of eight races.
According to Danilo Petrucci, Marc Marquez will fight for the World Cup again
Bagnaia is expected to start the 2023 MotoGP season as the defending champion. In the fight for the title, Petrucci is counting on an old acquaintance: Marc Marquéz. “Marquéz will be one of the contenders next year, so there’s a good chance of winning the title in 2022,” Petrucci commented on ‘Sky’.
“It’s great that such a strong driver is back in the championship,” says the Italian, happy about the comeback of the number 93. “Honda was in a crisis, they hardly scored any more points. He came back and was fighting for poles and victories.”
“He has an absurd amount of talent,” said Petrucci. “I’m especially happy on a personal level because he suffered a lot because of his arm. It’s nice that he’s getting his form back.”