Petrucci stays in points after struggle at Sachsenring

The Italian rider put his skills to the test and holds on to a points finish

 

Round nine at the GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland gave rise to a somewhat disappointing end to the first half of the MotoGP™ season for Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing), given the riders extraordinary achievements in the previous races. The German GP has left Petrucci wanting, after he was unable to take advantage of a promising front-row start - with lack of grip in the rear tyre limiting a potential result higher up the field.

Petrucci started the race at the Sachsenring well, managing to stick with the leading group after the lights went out. However, from lap one problems with the rear wheel were restrictive, preventing Petrucci from holding race pace, and between the ninth and tenth lap the rider from Terni was unsuccessful in defending his position from the advancement of fellow compatriots Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi. After a fight to stay in the top ten, Petrucci elected to console himself with a few points for the championship rather than risk too much in uncompetitive conditions.

Petrucci: “I am sorry about how things went today. If I have to be honest I had strange feelings already from the warm up lap. During the race I struggled to keep the bike running because every left turn seemed to be over the limit. They passed me on the straight, which never happens to me, unfortunately the rear tyre did not allow me to express myself. I am sorry for the team that did a great job, I am disappointed”.