Suzuki Ecstar have announced that Danilo Petrucci will be stepping in for the team this weekend at Thailand MotoGP to fill the vacancy left by Joan Mir, who still has an ankle injury sustained in Austria.
“It’s hard to explain my emotions because it’s a combination of everything, anyway I’m very happy.” Petrucci said.
“I have the news last Sunday while I was still in the United States competing for the championship. I said, ‘Okay, let me think about it. I have another race first’.
“Then I lost the championship and I thought, ‘Okay, maybe it’s good to race one more weekend’ and I accepted Suzuki’s offer.” Petrucci added.
Petrucci switched to KTM for the 2021 season and raced for the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team in the MotoGP class.
Besides a fifth place in a flag-to-flag race in Le Mans, tenth place was his best finish, after which he said goodbye to the premier class in Valencia.
However, KTM had a brand new KTM 450 Rally ready for him to take part in the Dakar Rally at the beginning of 2022.
“It feels really good to be back in this paddock, even if it’s just for one race. It’s great to see everyone again and try out a new bike with a top team. Even in my wildest dreams I could not have expected the offer.” Petrucci said.
“It’s beautiful and I want to thank everyone at Suzuki, but also the people at Ducati who allowed me to race here. It’s a sign of sympathy and that makes me happy.” Petrucci added.
This weekend is expected to have a lot of rain, specifically on Friday and Saturday, according to the weather predictions.
In dry conditions, it will be very impossible for Petrucci to race at the front, but in the rain, everything is different, and he is one of the most powerful riders. But he will need to perform using the Suzuki GSX-RR exactly as it should be used.
“I hope it continues to rain forever. At least until Sunday 16:00. Because yes, the race is in any case less physical, also because the engine demands less from the rider.” Petrucci said.
“I haven’t had a chance to be on the bike, but they’ve shown me all the things and everything is in a different position and we can’t adjust them.” he added.
