Ducati extends Danilo Petrucci’s contract until 2020

Danilo Petrucci will apprehend the upcoming German GP then the summer break with a free spirit as to his future: the official Ducati team renews its contract for an additional year with Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Desmosedici.

"Petrux" sees his efforts rewarded: the solid fellow from Terni (Italy) will team up again with Dovizioso next year following the renewal of his contract for the MotoGP 2020 season. The announcement of this renewal comes on the eve of the ninth race scheduled for this weekend in .

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"I am very happy to continue with Ducati for another year", immediately rejoiced the n ° 9, delighted to have reached his "objective since the opening of this new chapter" with the official Ducati team..

Danilo Petrucci, 28, joined the factory structure this winter to replace Jorge Lorenzo after four seasons in the Pramac team on Ducati satellites (2015 to 2018), during which he was on the podium six times. Before that, the Italian cut his teeth on second-class MotoGP: Ioda-Suter in 2012 and 2013 then an ART in 2014.

Under pressure, Petrucci took some time to find his rhythm – and his place – in the official team. Then he signed his first podium on the factory bike at the French Grand Prix, before clinching his first Grand Prix victory the following race in Italy after defeating the two strong men of the championship: Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso on the line. !

Already three podiums including a victory in the official GP19

His third consecutive podium obtained in the following event in Catalonia seals his rise to power, while allowing him to negotiate from a position of strength the extension of his contract. "Petrux" has all the cards in hand: his main rival to recover his factory handlebars, Jack Miller, lacks consistency when the Italian attacks mid-season in 3rd place in the provisional.

“Renewing our collaboration before the summer break makes me even more serene and confident about the future,” says Petrucci. "Now I just want to stay focused and keep improving to achieve better results on the track. We are third in the championship and we want to end the season in the top three.".

This announcement also comes after the GP of the Netherlands where Petrucci had expressed a certain uneasiness with respect to his role as "water carrier" of Dovizioso, Marquez’s toughest competitor in the title race. "Petrux" explained to be torn between his wish not to embarrass his teammate and his legitimate desire to exploit his full potential at all times….

The n ° 9 thus ensures that he did not dare to overtake "Dovi" at Assen and therefore put himself in a weak position at the end of the race against Morbidelli, who nabbed him fifth place. Annoyed, Petrucci then called on Ducati to reassure him about his future to avoid the feeling of "sacrificing" himself for nothing: obviously, the Italian was heard !

The reds of Bologna had every interest in leaving him in post next year anyway since they form a solid and productive duo with Dovizioso: if Honda currently leads the "Driver" and "Manufacturer" classifications thanks to Marquez, Ducati is at the top of the team classification.

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In addition, the cordial understanding between the two transalpines pleads in favor of Petrucci: Dovizioso took his wing by offering him to train together and share his, as well as by completing wheel to wheel simluations of races for move faster during practice. Objective of n ° 4: to make Petrucci his first ally on the track, to help him to unbolt Marquez.

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