MotoGP: Francesco Guidotti, “Exciting to see three Italians on the podium and satisfied with Hernandez and Petrucci”

Ducati Pramac MotoGP – The great start to the season for the Italian colors in Qatar (three riders on the podium) with Valentino Rossi winning the MotoGP race ahead of the Ducatis of Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone, could not leave Francesco Guidotti, Team Manager of Team Ducati Pramac, indifferent this year he lines up the confirmed Yonny Hernandez and the Terni native Danilo Petrucci.

“Seeing three Italians in the top three positions is always nice. It's not the first time this has happened, in fact, we were a bit used to it a few years ago, and it's nice to experience that emotion again, said Guidotti – Especially if there are two Ducatis on the podium. A great satisfaction because it means that Gigi Dall'Igna's project is already extremely competitive. Maybe we will benefit from it too but we certainly don't have to think about it now. Let's stick to our program and let the Ducati technicians work, they have done a great job: the time in which they made the new GP15 perform is a record."

His Team's start was also of great impact, here is the balance of the long weekend in Losail: “A definitely positive balance. In qualifying we exceeded all expectations with Yonny's second row making us celebrate. In Q2 he immediately started strong even if he had a small problem braking in the first corner. But he was filming alone and had no references. He probably could have done something more, but that's fine. The race went more or less as we expected. Too bad he lost the two positions in the last 3 laps. But it is an incentive to do better. We are not far from the leaders and the first race went great. If anything, we need to work – continues Guidotti – on his feeling with the GP14.2. He feels that it is definitely better than last year's bike and we knew this. But the knowledge of the medium is still not perfect. When he returns from a test run he is unable to give too precise indications and this does not facilitate the setup. The deterioration of the tire during the race is also the result of this aspect as well as obviously the fact that Yonny pushed hard in the first laps to stay in front-"

Guidotti then spoke about Danilo Petrucci's race, making his debut on the Ducati. “Danilo always tends to be dissatisfied, but he must leave this weekend with a big smile. In free practice he didn't shine, that's true, but he didn't do badly either. Maybe he missed a flash at the end, thanks to a less than perfect tyre. But when he ran alone in Q1 he set excellent times. He put official riders behind him and this must be a source of great pride for him. Then the Grand Prix: it was the first race he faced with the GP14 and it was important to finish it because only by covering the entire distance, with the problems that arise lap after lap, could he benefit from it as well as experience and information. In the end, 12th place is very good, also because it is very close to the Top 10. A great experience that will certainly make us grow. And already from Austin you will be able to see interesting things.”