Undeniable, as the season hits the midway point, that it’s Toprak Razgatlioglu that has been the talk of the town with his record breaking pace on board the ROKiT BMW, but is there another rider that is showcasing “the right stuff”
A little over 12 weeks ago, Danilo Petrucci suffered life changing injury’s during a motorcross training session ahead of the Assen round. Danilo suffered a broken collarbone, shoulder blade, broke his jaw in two places and various lacerations across his body all requiring multiple surgeries, resulting in plates being required to stabilise his double jaw fracture.
Having said shortly after his surgeries “Unfortunately, I have also cut a nerve in the jaw, which may come back. But for now, I’ll laugh with my mouth a little crooked like this. I’m very happy to be here because, first of all, I’m alive, and for a moment when I was crashing, I didn’t believe I would be able to tell this story”
Only a few weeks after his accident and surgeries, the Italian rider returned to the WorldSBK paddock with Barni Ducati Racing Team. Fearing of falling from his machine and witnessing a few other riders do so, Danilo said that “it’s incredible, I didn’t expect to be here. In the Superpole race I didn’t start well and I was afraid of falling, but after a few laps I was in 9th position and thought, ‘Oh Perfect’
It’s an incredible feeling given that my shoulder hurt a lot but at the same time I also remembered the doctor who after the injury told me ‘I don’t know if you’ll be able to get back on a motorbike again’ and after two months I finished sixth. A mixed sensation, between pain and joy, that makes me move!”
Fast forward to Donington Park and Round 5 of the Championship, Danilo was having a remarkable Friday free practice finishing both sessions in second place and only 0.222’s adrift from Championship leader Toprak after completing 32 laps despite staying in his box for the first 15 minutes of FP2.
Having confirmed that after the Misano round he spent two weeks not being able to use his right arm due to the inflammation caused from racing, Danilo said “being inside the top 5 would be good and to be the best independent so I can score some good points again. On the inside, I want to be on the podium but I am not sure how I will last during the race. It would be a dream to step on the podium, three months after the accident that I had.”
Although Danilo didn’t end up on the steps of the podium in race 1 at Donington, he did come first in the independents and 7th overall, a position that he improved on during Race 2 on Sunday by finishing 6th.
In the Czech Republic for Round 6, on the back of what was an overall incredibly recording breaking weekend for WorldSBK racing at Donington Park, fans alike were looking to see what could be done to top the stand out performances of the previous weekend.
With Toprak set to take 10 consecutive wins, highlights and racing coverage was very much focused on this. And while it was incredible to watch Toprak once again win by a country mile and putting it to all the BMW neigh sayers, for me it was seeing the pure joy and most likely relief on Petrucci’s face when, after starting Race 1 from the second row came through to finish the race in second place, the emotions were palpable during post race interviews. This podium matched his career best performance in the Superbike class and claimed his second podium of the 2024 season, with the first being at Philip Island at the beginning of the season.
Danilo said after the race “ I said that we could fight for the podium but when you are in the race you have to fight really hard to get that podium. At the beginning, I had a bit of trouble but then I saw that Nicolo and Andrea were a bit slower going into the corners and I tried to go ahead of them. Andrea gave me a hard time until the end. I know him very well and on the last lap it is always special with him! I tried to close the doors on that lap. I can’t believe I’m here after my motocross accident and now I’m again on the podium!”
Unfortunately, for Race 2 on Sunday, a first corner crash saw Bautista and Petrucci removed from the proceedings after they clashed with each other. Petrucci appeared to arrive at the corner to fast as he clipped Bautista and Remy Gardner. Speaking after the Race, Petrucci was keen to clarify that he didn’t feel the error was his and that in fact Remy Gardner whom squeezed him between Bautista “ I feel deeply sorry for both me and Alvaro but it wasn’t my fault and I feel sorry as we ruined a beautiful weekend”
The Italian rider is now four points behind Andrea Iannone in the battle for Independent honours as the series now moves to Autodromo do Algarve, Portugal mid August. If anything is to go by and the outright grit a determination shown from Danilo despite the very evident pain he is still suffering as a result of his accident, pace indications predict that we may well see Petrucci on the podium again this season and most certainly in contention for winning the independent category. For me, this is a clear demonstration of the “right stuff”.
Written by : Kerrie McFadden @ First Turn Media
For Press coverage or Press Officer services please email Kerrie : Info@FirstTurnMedia.co.uk
Photos from WSBK Press Pack
