Danilo Petrucci’s adventure at KTM seems to come to an end after a few months, because there will be no more space for him in Tech3 in 2022. The indiscretion comes from our Speedweek colleagues who learned that Raul Fernandez has made his move and after some hesitation decided to move to MotoGP as early as next year. The same path of Mir and Vinales, both only one year in Moto2, which will enable him to find Remy Gardner as a team-mate in the premier class. A problem for the Ajo team, which has already decided to promote the young phenomenon Pedro Acosta in the intermediate class and now has to choose a second driver.
While this is a relatively big problem for the Finnish team, Because Petrucci loses his place in Tech3 could mean that he has to give up MotoGP. In fact, the Terni driver doesn’t have much of a choice: it’s difficult for him to find a place in Aprilia, which is in talks with Maverick Vinales, with zero chances on Petronas and VR46, two junior teams that want to focus on young drivers, to be interested in.
So what could Danilo’s future look like? KTM could offer him the role of tester and join Pedrosa, maybe with some wild cards during the season. Another alternative would be to switch to SBK, where a rider like him could fit in with many teams, especially Ducati.
While we await official confirmation of Fernandez’s move to MotoGP, disappointment remains with Petrucci’s missed opportunity, and not just because of him. A lack of tests due to Covid made everything difficult for the Italian, who practically had to use the first GPs as tests. In addition, the RC16 turned out to be not quite suitable for his driving style and also for his size, with aerodynamics that put him at a disadvantage. Another season would have been useful in understanding what the Italian-Austrian couple could have done, but it seems we can’t figure it out anymore.