Qatar MotoGP test: Petrucci 'happy', but work to do after 21st place finish

KTM Tech 3 riders Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona finished 21st and 23rd respectively in the opening MotoGP test of 2021. 

Following an intense first day in the all new orange livery of KTM Tech 3, Petrucci made steady improvements according to the team on day two, which saw him complete 51 laps in total.  

While some riders have already had various track time on superbike spec machines so far in 2021, this was Petrucci's first action of the year and an opportunity to familiarise himself with the RC16 bike, after making the switch from Ducati where he spent the last six seasons. 

While it was a positive one for the Italian in general, there remains plenty of work to be done in the second test which begins tomorrow. 

Speaking after his second day of running which included a crash, Petrucci said: "Today has been another intense day of working. I’m understanding the bike better day by day.

"We tried something that works, but it’s clear that we need some more time, as the challenge is quite tough. Unfortunately, I crashed this evening and I’m really sorry for that.

"Overall, I’m happy about the improvements we made today. For sure, we are still quite far from where we want to be, but we have three days left next week, where we need to use the time we have available to the best and then I think we can be competitive.

"We improved the lap time a lot today, but it’s still not enough. I would like to say thanks to my team for the hard work. We have to continue like this."

It was also a return to action for Iker Lecuona, who has had an extended period of time away due to missing the final three rounds of the 2020 campaign. 

While he did not elaborate on what new parts were tested, Lecuona spent much of the test focusing on new 'things', and also his riding style. "I tried many things on the bike for KTM and also for myself. I continued to improve my performance, mainly with my riding style in order to readapt myself to the bike," said Lecuona. 

"Also, with the temperature I felt more confident tonight than yesterday, so I’m quite satisfied in this regard. I didn’t check the result throughout the day, as I was fully focused on my performance and my work.

"We still have three test days to go faster, so we will see what happens next week."