‘I couldn’t pass Marini', setup needs ‘to improve’ - Petrucci
The 2021 MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal saw Danilo Petrucci score his first points for Tech 3 KTM with a 13th place finish at Portimao.
It was a relatively quiet race for the former Ducati rider who gained five places in total during the race after qualifying 18th.
However, the Italian was unable to make his way past Avintia Esponsoroma Ducati rider Luca Marini in the closing stages who slipped down the order as the race went on.
Petrucci was slightly fortuitous to claim a points position due to the crashes in front of him, but nonetheless, it’s a positive result heading into a stretch of the season where the 30 year-old has been strong in the past.
"To be honest, the race was not too interesting for me. I was fighting and made some passes, but at the end, I couldn’t pass Marini," said Petrucci.
"We are still not in our best form, we need to improve our setup. I am gaining a lot of experience though.
"At least, we got some points and this is important for the mood. I would like to thank all my team, because they are doing a great job.
"For me it’s still a new experience, but I know we have the potential to be closer to the front, but for this we have to work a lot. We have some ideas for Jerez and I’m looking forward to racing there."
Given we witnessed the closest MotoGP race ever the Doha Grand Prix, the gap from race winner Fabio Quartararo and Petrucci of +29.836 seconds at Portimao was quite staggering, and not something they will want to see too often.
