Danilo Petrucci will start from the third row of the grid in the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna and the Rimini Riviera scheduled tomorrow at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”.
After having finished Friday’s free practice with the ninth overall time, the Ducati Team rider managed to stay in the top ten, closing this morning’s FP3 in tenth place and getting to proceed directly into Q2 thanks to a fastest lap in 1:31.701. However, in the official qualifying this afternoon, the rider from Terni finished as ninth quickest in 1:31.574 and, therefore, he will start tomorrow race from the third row of the grid.
Andrea Dovizioso, fourteenth overall at the end of the first three free practise sessions, had to take part in Q1 this afternoon where he managed to get a spot in Q2 closing the first session of qualifying with the second-fastest time. Unfortunately, the rider from Forlì couldn’t go beyond a 1:31.581 lap time in Q2, ending as tenth quickest, and getting to start tomorrow race from Row 4.
Jack Miller, Pramac Racing Team rider, will start from the front row of the grid as he took his Ducati Desmosedici GP bike in second place, just 76 thousandths off Viñales’ pole position. His teammate Francesco Bagnaia also did an excellent performance today. The Piedmontese rider did an extraordinary lap time below 1:31.000 that would have earned him his first pole position in MotoGP. But, as he exceeded the track limits just before the finish line, his lap time was cancelled by the Race Direction.
Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 1:31.574 (9th)
“Finally, we were able to find some solutions that have improved my feeling with the bike. Unfortunately, in qualifying, I wasn’t precise, and I made some mistakes that made me lose a few tenths. In general, I am satisfied because I’m back being fast and I’m happy with the steps forward that we’ve been able to make. Let’s see how tomorrow’s race will go: it will be crucial to know how to manage the tyres well.”
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:31.581 (10th)
“It has been a difficult day. This morning we weren’t able to get through to Q2 directly, but luckily we found something in FP4 that improved my feeling with the bike, and that allowed me to set the second-fastest time in Q1. Unfortunately, in Q2, I wasn’t able to do a perfect lap. Tomorrow we will start the race quite from behind, but I hope this won’t penalize us too much”.
The Ducati Team riders will have 20 minutes of warm-up tomorrow at 9:20 AM, before taking to the track for the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna and Rimini Riviera, which will kick off at 2 PM Italian time on a 27-lap distance.
