Ducati’s sporting director Paolo Ciabatti claims the declining appearance of Danilo Petrucci has nothing to do with the driver’s contract extension in July last year. He said it was only a coincidence that when he renewed his tenure with the Italian manufacturer, his appearance had declined.
The Ducati team offered a new contract to Petrucci ahead of the race at the German GP. At that time they reasoned the 29-year-old racer was able to adapt to the GP19 Desmosedici motorbike and look impressive during the first half.
This was proven when Petrucci was able to climb the podium three times in the last eight races. One of them managed to stand strong in the first position when conquering the Mugello Circuit.
Over time, Petrucci’s career with the Ducati team was not as smooth as his appearance in the first half. Because, during the second half or after renewing the contract he experienced a sharp decline in appearance.
Of the remaining 11 races, Petrucci’s best record is in fourth position and it happened at the Sachsenring Circuit, Germany. Nevertheless, Ciabatti underlined Petrux’s decline had nothing to do with the new contract.
‘I think the fact that Danilo’s performance is not the same after he signed the contract was just a coincidence. Last year, Jorge Lorenzo started winning at Ducati after deciding to change producers. So I think it was just a coincidence,’ Ciabatti explained, quoted from Autosport, Thursday (9/1/2020).
‘Danilo perfectly started the season and then he had three podiums in a row, winning a fantastic race at Mugello. He also did a good race which I will say at Sachsenring, right after the renewal of the contract. But after the summer holidays, something changed and obviously we are trying to work with him, trying to restore him with the same level of confidence he had in the beginning of the season – so far, without success.’
