The MotoGP rider under most pressure in 2019

One MotoGP rider goes into 2019 with the chance of a lifetime, but also a contractual situation that suggests his team lacks faith in him. Will he prove to be a stopgap chosen in too much haste, or a surprise star?

Jamie Klein Feb 1, 2019, 12:42 PM

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Among the 12 factory riders in MotoGP this year, one finds himself in a unique - and, some would say, somewhat precarious – position heading into the new season.

Danilo Petrucci certainly has big shoes to fill in 2019. He was handed the chance of a lifetime by the works Ducati outfit in what many observers regard as a hastily-made decision by company CEO Claudio Domenicali, who had lost patience with star signing Jorge Lorenzo's lack of progress.

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Author Jamie Klein

Jamie Klein is one of Motorsport.com’s Global News Editors, reporting primarily on the FIA World Endurance Championship, Super Formula and SUPER GT. He took his first steps into motorsport journalism in 2013 as a freelancer before joining Motorsport Network full-time in 2015 as UK Editor. In 2016, he moved into a more wide-ranging role as he became a regular in the paddocks of the WEC and MotoGP. After a two-month trip to Japan in late 2018 gave him his first taste of reporting live on Super Formula and SUPER GT, he made the move to Tokyo permanently in 2019, and has been a regular presence in both paddocks since 2020. Away from motorsport, he is studying the Japanese language and can often be found relaxing in an ‘onsen’ (hot spring) or gorging on ramen, occasionally at the same time. He can be found on Twitter at @JamieKlein_.