The Laguna Seca track in Monterey, is one of the most fascinating and difficult in the world, with its famous "corkscrew" and a story that brings back the greatest duels between centaurs in Superbike and MotoGP. At MotoAmerica it was no different and our Danilo, despite being struggling with the whims of his Ducati, managed to get two important podiums for a championship that, despite the loss of his leadership, still sees him fighting for victory. What is missing from the setup of his bike, Petrux added with his talent, giving a show until the last corner to attack Petersen in Race 1 and to defend himself from him in Race 2. At the conclusion of the championship there are four race weekends left and the next one, at Brainerd, a very complicated track, two weeks away. Let's cheer for him. He can do it!
DANILO PETRUCCI RACE1: 3rd
"Yeah, it was nice. I made a gamble with the rear tire. This morning, I tried this tire, and it was a little bit better than in the afternoon. I made a mistake in the first corner. I was in third instead of second. I was losing a lot, especially the first two laps. But then I said, ‘Maybe the two guys with the softer option will drop a bit the pace.’ But in fact, it was not, because I was lap by lap more and more in trouble, especially with the corner speed. I was feeling always the rear sliding. I managed to stay with Cam (Petersen) but was really difficult for me to pass because I got no traction out of the corner. So, from the outside, I think everybody was thinking I was waiting until the last lap, but I got just the opportunity of the last lap because I was not thinking about the championship. I just tried to at least finish second. Unfortunately, the only thing with Cam was, not slower, but we got two different bikes and our lines are slightly different. I just have one meter of space. I tried to go in. I said, ‘Hopefully, he will not close the line. ‘Fortunately, we did just a soft touch. But then I was a little bit less happy when I saw him coming again. Definitely, I think from the outside it was good to watch. Unfortunately, everyone forgot that Jake was miles away, and this is the main problem for tomorrow. For today, I enjoyed. Congrats to these two guys. We are really having fun. It’s nice to have racing like this."
DANILO PETRUCCI RACE2: 2nd
"Today I have just a small mistake. I think in the middle of the race I went a little bit wide in turn two. I tried to follow Jake (Gagne) the first lap, but at the beginning I don’t have so much feeling on the front. My rear tire has grip, and the front is shaking. I cannot really trust the bike. Then after a few laps I have no traction and I just can manage. I tried to stay with Jake, but he was simply faster than me and truly deserves the championship lead because in the last races he has been really, really fast. We are trying. We definitely need more traction. What can I say? I just managed to stay up because cannot really push as I want, but at least I was able to stay in front of Cam (Petersen). I knew watching the race from yesterday, he was really, really fast out of the corner. I tried to defend myself on braking because it’s the only strong point I have at the moment. But anyway, I don’t have any excuses. Jake is faster at the moment, and also Cam is really, really fast. We need to improve our performance. We need to find a bit of traction. A good weekend. It’s always nice to race Laguna."
