MADRID, 27 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Suzuki confirmed on Monday that Italian rider Danilo Petrucci will replace Spaniard Joan Mir, who remains unrecovered from an ankle injury sustained in Austria at next weekend’s Thai Grand Prix.
“Sadly, after a new MRI, the doctors have confirmed that Joan’s condition is improving, but not enough to allow her to race in Thailand. She will therefore continue her rehabilitation in order to be fit for Phillip Island. He will be replaced in Buriram this weekend by Danilo Petrucci,” reported Livio Suppo, Suzuki’s ‘Team Manager’.
‘Petrux’, who this year was left without a team and who in 2022 has competed in the Dakar Rally and in MotoAmerica, takes over in this role from the Japanese Kazuki Watanabe and Takuya Tsuda, who replaced the Spaniard in Misano and last Sunday in Motegi.
“It goes without saying that I am very happy for the opportunity to race in Thailand with Team Suzuki Ecstar. I want to thank the team for giving me this fantastic opportunity. I also want to thank Ducati and the management of my current team for giving me allowed to run this race as a substitute,” Petrucci said in a statement from the Japanese team.
The Italian noted that the GSX-RR “seems very fast” and that he knows it is “a winning bike”. “I know it won’t be easy, so I don’t put any expectations on the experience, I just want to enjoy it. I’m also excited to be one of the few riders in history to jump from a MotoGP bike to Dakar to a Superbike and then to another MotoGP factory bike,” he added.