Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci weighs a full 11kg more than team-mate Andrea Dovizioso and it is this disparity that the Italian believes is holding him back at some MotoGP tracks this year.
Petrucci, who is also a head or more taller than Dovizioso, continued a run of bad results at Misano - finishing tenth - and it seems a long time since his maiden win at Mugello but this weekend’s Aragon round could be a better place.
Edge grip appears to be the problem for Petrucci and at tracks like Misano where a lot of time is spent on the side of the tyre, he is struggling, and Aragon is a more up and down type of place.
“The problem is when the bike is at full lean and we can not exploit the potential because it affects the tyre a lot,” said Petrucci.
“I also saw it with Pirro, who was always leaving me behind in acceleration and I didn’t understand why.
“Then I saw him leave me behind even when I was using full throttle. That’s a mechanical problem and there’s nothing we can do about it.
“I would have liked to do a lot more than 10th, but during the race I had the confirmation of a feeling. I think that my riding style in Misano is penalised by my weight and, unfortunately, there is little I can do.
“In Aragon the situation will be different, but we will have to find a solution for next year. I’ll be working to lose some weight, but I can’t go down by 10 kilos to match Andrea.”
Other things that weigh ten kilos
A fifth of an Octopus
A quarter of a toilet
Ten litres of water
One third of a Dalmatian
16 basketballs
50 hamsters
1/50th of a Polar Bear