Petrucci: Physically, it is very, very demanding

Danilo Petrucci was right in the mix during free practice on Friday in Thailand, even though the Pramac Ducati rider highlighted the extreme heat as a problem.

The Italian said the effect of the high temperatures on the rear Michelin tyre was making life more difficult physically on the bike at the Chang International Circuit.

“First of all it is very, very hot and this is a problem because we struggle a lot with the tyre, so physically it is very, very demanding,” he said.

“But anyway we have been fast with all the tyres, but unfortunately we had a problem with the bike with the hard rear tyre and I have to stop, so I am not sure about the consistency of the rear hard.

“Anyway, the key to the race is to choose the right tyre, on the rear especially, and to be as fast as possible but not using so much rear tyre. To say is very easy, but to do is not so much. Generally we are quite fast, so we can concentrate better on the tyre.”

Petrucci was fifth fastest with a lap of 1m 31.238s, which was only 0.148s off Andrea Dovizioso’s top lap on the factory Ducati.