Petrucci feels that KTM did not listen to him to improve the RC16

January 22, 2022

KTM had to face the 2021 MotoGP World Championship season without the benefits of being a concessions team. After the Austrian manufacturer claimed its first three wins of the 2020 season, the championship did not give it the opportunity to test on a concession basis during 2021, as it had in previous years.

During the year, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing embarked on a quest to further develop the bike. However, the Austrian structure did not draw heavily on Danilo Petrucci’s experience in this context.

The Italian rider, who rode the entire 2021 season for Tech 3, is surprised that KTM did not involve him considering his extensive experience after 10 seasons in the premier class.

“Yeah, that was my thought too,” admits Petrucci. “I tried to apply my experience, but after the sixth or seventh race they decided to listen to other drivers. So I was useless to them in that sense.

Danilo Petrucci suspects a possible reason why the Austrian team decided not to implement all the Terni driver’s recommendations. ‘Petrux’ attributes the emptiness on the part of the Austrian garage to his difference in weight with respect to other pilots.

“It is a reality that I weigh between 15 and 20 kilograms more than other drivers. On the other hand, I have six years of experience with another manufacturer and have been an official driver for years. I tried to put that into play, but it was not possible,” he laments.

Petrucci has just contested the Dakar Rally for Tech-3-KTM recently, making his worth clear through a victory in the fifth stage of the desert event. And in less than a month, Petrucci will play a reunion with Ducati in Superbike, a rumor that links him to a possible participation in MotoAmerica with the Ducati Team Warhorse.

The Terni rider would take over from Loris Baz and would share the track with the World Superbike and Supersport riders.

#90 Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing: Danilo Petrucci