Petrucci slams Lorenzo over 'terrifying' Silverstone practice miss
Danilo Petrucci has hit out at fellow Ducati MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo after what he called a "terrifying" near-miss during second British Grand Prix practice at Silverstone
The pair nearly collided in the closing stages of the session at Vale corner, where Pramac rider Petrucci encountered Lorenzo's works Desmosedici on an out-lap and almost hit the three-time premier class champion.
Petrucci said the incident cost him the chance of being in the top 10 in second practice and slammed Lorenzo for not paying closer attention to who was coming up behind him.
"Lorenzo does not care about the other drivers when he's on the track," said Petrucci, who finished up only 12th fastest.
"He left the pits and did not look if someone came from behind, as I was.
"It was terrifying, he was in the middle of the track and I came with a lot of speed.
"For a moment I was afraid of colliding with him, I had to hit the brakes and I went long to dodge [him].
"I was improving the time with the new tyre and I was out of the top 10 for this reason."
Lorenzo said he did not realise Petrucci was there but admitted he was "lucky" to avoid a major crash that could have left him injured.
"In the motorhome I saw the images and it was scary, because just for a half-centimetre he didn't impact my rear wheel and I didn't fly to the moon to have a big injury," Lorenzo said.
"I don't know why he almost impacted me. I just trying to warm up the tyre as fast as possible, probably for this braking [area] I was blocking a little bit or not braking, not slow but not very late braking.
"Probably he was very close to me. When you have some rider in front of you, you must be - in my opinion - responsible for the rider in front.
"You must leave some space, some metres, just in case he makes a mistake.
"But I don't think he [kept] some metres of space, and he almost impacted my wheel.
"So imagine if I crashed, I was injured... I'm helping him to be faster and he almost hit my bike.
"If you ask him, he will say it's my fault, but you know what I think."
Petrucci will be promoted to the Ducati works team in Lorenzo's place next year when the Spaniard moves to Honda.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Yamamoto ‘never imagined’ scoring podium on injury comeback in Super Formula
Pourchaire “worried” for Super Formula prospects after nightmare debut
How Cassidy emerged triumphant from "mayhem" in Portland FE slow-burner
Racing through injury: What Stroll can learn from past cases
Jorge Lorenzo joins Porsche Supercup grid for 2023
Why a MotoGP legend needs to ditch social media and enjoy retirement
How MotoGP brakes work: Secrets of stopping a 220mph bike
Hyundai enacts contingency plan after WRC Kenya fuel issue
Vanwall working on 2025 WEC comeback with heavily-revised Hypercar
Russell: Mercedes locked in F1 "battle of fine margins"
Can anyone stop "changed" Bagnaia as Ducati tightens its grip on MotoGP?
The signs that MotoGP's Japanese powerhouses are changing for the better
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments