Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) ended the Phillip Island test in P14 on the combined timesheets, putting in a best of 1:29.615. The only man on the new GP17 other than Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, Petrucci has a good feeling with the bike – but needs more laps to really get to grips with the new machine.
Bemoaning a lack of gains in laptime on new tyres and wanting to take a bigger step forward next time out, the MotoGP™ podium finisher nevertheless heads home to Italy happy after finding improvements.
Danilo Petrucci, P14: “We made some improvements, we did a lot of laps and we are quite happy about our bike and pace. Since the first day we’ve had a good bike but the problem is that we can’t improve a lot, especially with new tyres. The laptime with new tyres isn’t so good, we’re three or four tenths off. It’s like a first test because in Sepang we didn’t have chance to ride a lot. We’re quite happy and we have to continue in this way in Qatar – with a lot of laps, for me to get a good feeling on the bike.”