Danilo Petrucci shone with his own light during the fifth stage of the Dakar, achieving a victory that opened the eyes of KTM and vindicated the talent of the Italian rider before the whole world.
After Petrucci’s first participation in the Dakar, the director of KTM, Pit Beirer, points out to the Italian with caution: “Now he knows how hard and dangerous it is. I am not sure if he will want to pursue a future in rallying. “.
While this unknown stirs, Petrucci will test the Panigale V4 R in Portimao next week. While the Italian says that “further cooperation with KTM in off-road rallies is not an option”, Beirer does not want to face a break in that regard, especially with an eye to the future.
“He knows where we’re sitting and I’m sure he’ll call us,” Beirer concluded.
However, on more than one occasion Petrucci has expressed his doubts about KTM, referring to communication problems with the Austrian team.
“My plan was to compete in the Dakar and then to participate in the remaining cross-country rallies. But even before the Dakar there were some problems with KTM. We were not entirely in agreement,” Petrucci said in an interview with Motorsport.com.
From the other side, Pit Beirer thinks, who commented on this unknown during the presentation of his team last Thursday: “We will meet again at some point. I don’t know how specific your plans are for the summer, but we will, because it is still a friend of our house”.
“First of all, I have to say that he did an incredible job. The whole world saw it,” Beirer praises him. “When we announced [Petrucci’s start at the Dakar], everyone thought it was a marketing stunt. They knew he was a good off-road driver. And he also knew he had this dream.”
“We love him as a person,” says the KTM Motorsport boss, admitting: “It was very painful for us that we couldn’t continue doing MotoGP together.” However, the German also stated: “When we made these plans together, none of us would have thought that I would win a Dakar stage.”