Motorcycle star Danilo Petrucci is competing again in Saudi Arabia – this time he is part of the Italtrans team and will take turns at the wheel with Claudio Bellina.
Danilo Petrucci returns to the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia in 2025. However, the Italian will not start with a motorcycle, but in the trucks. This means that the veteran of the Superbike World Championship is taking on a completely new adventure.
Petrucci competed with KTM in 2022. But as early as the second stage, there was an engine failure. “Petrux” finally continued the rally and made headlines worldwide with his victory in the fifth stage.
He is the only driver to have won races in MotoGP, MotoAmerica and the Superbike World Championship, and he also has a stage victory at the Dakar in his CV. While you are on your own on a motorcycle, a truck crew consists of three people.
Petrucci has joined the Italian Italtrans team. The truck with starting number 608 is an Iveco Powerstar built by the tuner MM Technology. The 8,760-kilogram vehicle produces around 1,000 horsepower.
Claudio Bellina, who has been competing in the Dakar for 16 years, is the number 1 driver. He and Petrucci will take turns at the wheel. Marco Arnoletti is the navigator. An important sponsor of the project is the tire company Prometeon.
The transport company Italtrans was founded by brothers Germano and Claudio Bellina. Both have a great passion for motorsport. Germano is an enduro rider, while Claudio has been competing in the Dakar for almost 20 years.
Since 2010, Italtrans has also had its own team in the Moto2 class. In 2020, Enea Bastianini became world champion. The links to Petrucci are therefore obvious. However, he did not compete in a rally with the truck beforehand.
“Doing the Dakar was the best decision of my life,” says “Petrux” looking back on 2022. “It was the most wonderful experience of my life. It was like a trip to the moon. I never thought I would make it. As a person, I have matured a lot.”
Since then, the 34-year-old has been asked regularly whether he would return to Saudi Arabia a second time. The fact that he is now trying his luck in a truck is a surprise: “I will have to learn a lot and do my best to achieve a successful result.”
In January 2024, Bellina took seventh place overall. “We had a lot of fun and were even able to achieve a good result, just missing out on a top-five finish,” the experienced truck driver reflects.
“In the next edition, I will have Marco Arnoletti with his experience back at my side, together with newcomer Danilo Petrucci, who will make a great contribution to our team with his driving expertise.”
With the prominent name on the bike, it is clear that Italtrans will receive a lot of media attention. “All eyes will be on us, so we will do our best to have fun and achieve a good result,” said Bellina.
