Danilo Petrucci ended a solid race in the top ten once again as he was eighth in the Catalan Grand Prix held today at the Spanish circuit of Montmeló, on the outskirts of Barcelona. On the other hand, it was an unlucky race for Andrea Dovizioso, that was forced to retire on the first lap as he got involved in a crash.
As he got off the line well from 17th on the grid, Dovizioso had managed to recover immediately several positions. But, at the second corner, he was hit by the bike of Johann Zarco, that fell in the attempt to avoid Petrucci’s Desmosedici GP bike during the hectic early stages of the race. With his retirement today, the rider from Forlì is forced to give up on his lead in the Championship, which sees him now fourth, 24 points behind the new leader Quartararo.
Petrucci, on the other hand, finished a good race in eighth place. After starting from the third row of the grid, the rider from Terni managed to recover till the seventh position, engaging a duel with Pecco Bagnaia for sixth but, on the final stages, he couldn’t defend himself from Nakagami’s attack, finishing back into eighth place.
Petrucci remains fourteenth in the Championship standings with 39 points. Ducati is second in the manufacturers’ standings, while the Ducati Team occupies the fourth place in the teams’ standings.
Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 8th
“I’m delighted with my performance today and, in general, with how this weekend went. Today I felt comfortable in the race, and I was able to manage the tyres well. Unfortunately, I was struggling a lot in the straights, where I got passed by most of the riders that overtook me. Maybe, if we had qualified better, we could have aimed for an even better result, but I think it was a good race overall and that after last weekend in Misano, we are gradually returning to our levels”.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – DNF
“Crashing out at the second corner is always difficult to digest, and I’m sorry for how the race went today. I had focused on making a good start, and at the end of the straight, I managed to recover several positions. Unfortunately, I got involved in an accident on the first lap, which was the result of a normal race dynamic. The Championship is potentially still open but, if we want to challenge for the title, now more than ever, we need to return to the levels of competitiveness to which we are used to”.
After the eighth round of the 2020 MotoGP season, the Ducati Team will now have a week off before returning to the track from 9th to 11th October at the Le Mans circuit for the French GP.
