Danilo Petrucci has hailed Ducati’s 2023 specification Desmosedici MotoGP machine as “the best motorcycle I’ve had” following his one-off outing in the French Grand Prix at Le Mans.
The Italian was brought back into the factory Ducati outfit for the first time since he left the team at the end of 2020 as a replacement for the still-injured Enea Bastianini, Petrucci scoring solid points for 11th in an attritional encounter having made steady progress with the latest evolution of Ducati’s premier class prototype across the event.
Speaking to Austrian publication Speedweek following his solitary outing with the squad he scored his two MotoGP wins across the 2019 and ’20 campaigns, Petrucci described the bike as “the best motorcycle I’ve had in my life” due to Ducati having “solved the problems” the Desmosedici suffered from when he last competed with it over two years ago.
He added though that this actually made it trickier for him to adapt, Petrucci describing that he was not used to “being able to accelerate so early” mid-corner, largely the chief issue Ducati struggled with during the timeframe he raced with the manufacturer.
“It was the best motorcycle I’ve had in my life,” explained Petrucci.
“The Ducati factory solved the problems we had back then, the power delivery is much better today.
“You can carry the speed with you much better through the corners and at the same time hold the line.
“And the traction never breaks; the bike has always been very good on the brakes.
“I stumbled because I’m not used to being able to accelerate so early in the apex of a curve.
“It used to be impossible on the Ducati and I’m having trouble with it on the Superbike again this year.
“As soon as I accelerate so early on the Superbike, the rear wheel slips away – that’s why I was late with the MotoGP machine in every corner and I then had to push on the brakes to make up for lost time. But the track wasn’t in an easy condition, so I had to go far a few times.”
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