Consider Jack Miller a Friend, Danilo Petrucci Prays for MotoGP Champion

MDP Live - When Danilo Petrucci left, the entire MotoGP paddock felt sad because he lost a rider with a prominent character. He is known as a humorous and outgoing rider, so he has many good friends in the championship. However, Petrucci called Jack Miller the rider he was closest to.

The friendship between Petrucci and Miller has been going on for a long time, when each made their debuts in MotoGP and Moto3 in 2012. However, their relationship has grown closer since they worked together at Pramac Racing in 2018. When they were teammates, the two were often the center of attention because they often served funny act.

Petrucci also admitted that he had lost confidence in the 2020 season, which was his last year at Ducati, and also the 2021 season when he defended Tech 3 KTM. It is difficult to appear competitive, he has never re-watched his race in MotoGP. However, starting this year, after moving to rally, he was determined to watch again for Miller's sake.

Find Similarities with Jack Miller

"For the last two years, I have never watched MotoGP races. When you don't like yourself, you don't want to look in the mirror! So watching those races is hard for me. But from 2022 I will watch MotoGP races again on TV," said 'Petrux' via Crash.net, Saturday (8/1/2022).

Even though they are rivals on the track, Petrucci and Miller never forget to congratulate each other when they achieve classy results. When one of them wins, they celebrate it together. Petrucci did not deny that he gave full support to Miller as a champion with the Ducati Lenovo Team.

"One of the best friends I have is Jack. He is very similar to me. So, to be honest, I want to see him win. There are many people, all Italian riders, that I support. However, with Jack, I have a special relationship," said Petrucci, who kicked off with a win at Stage 5 of the 2022 Dakar Rally.

Miller Calls Petrucci Talented and Hardworking

Despite winning 10 podiums and 2 victories in MotoGP, Petrucci admits that it is difficult for him to be competitive because of his tall body. He even said that he would be the last 'normal' racer to win in MotoGP. However, Miller disagreed. He believes Petrucci has great talent and is a hard worker.

"Danilo is a person who likes to 'cheap' on himself all the time. Even though he is talented. In fact, he is not only talented, but also works hard. If you look at his photos from the Ioda (Racing) days, his face is as round as a moon. But when he came to Ducati, he lost weight, became competitive. He worked hard, and he is a legend," said Miller.

Currently, Petrucci is undergoing the second week of the 2022 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, although he has not yet determined his career plans for the rest of the year. Miller himself will be in his eighth season in MotoGP, starting with pre-season testing in Sepang, Malaysia, on February 5-6, and Mandalika, Indonesia, on February 11-13.

Danilo Petrucci Confesses How Unappreciated He Is in MotoGP

MDP Live - Italian racer Danilo Petrucci pours out his long-held heart about the MotoGP race. He admitted that he was not respected at the race, even though he felt loved, but he still felt like he was not respected.

Petrucci started his career in the MotoGP class in 2012, by joining the loda Racing Project team. Meanwhile, in 2015, the Italian racer joined the Ducati satellite team, Pramac Racing.

With the Ducati satellite team, Petrucci spent four seasons, 2015-2018 to be exact. While in the following season, he moved up to the factory Ducati team and only lasted two seasons, namely 2019-2020 and decided to move to Tech 3 KTM a year later.

However, together with the Austrian manufacturer, Petrucci failed to show his slick appearance. As a result, he did not get a place at KTM to race in the 2022 MotoGP.

The 31-year-old racer admitted that he was loved, but not respected by his team. Petrucci knows that he cannot be loved and respected at the same time, but he has tried to improve his performance during the races.

"Maybe I was loved, but not respected," said Petrucci quoted from Tuttomotoriweb, Monday (12/27/2021).

"Why? You can't be loved and respected at the same time. When results don't come, I always put myself in the spotlight to improve, without yelling or scolding others, trying to find something or an excuse to improve performance," he said.

Furthermore, Petrucci admitted that it was not easy to accept this kind of treatment and left MotoGP. He admitted that if he were a little harsh on other people, maybe his adventure in MotoGP could be longer.

“In the last few years I've worked with a lot of people, I've spoken to a lot of people and for me, crossing the paddock is really hard even just to say 'hello'. I stopped to talk to a lot of people because I never screamed in the pits and I always took my responsibility."

After deciding to leave MotoGP, Petrucci chose to move to the 2022 Dakar Rally race. In that race he is still a member of KTM.