Danilo Petrucci didn’t even know if he would be able to finish the Misano races with shoulder pain – Tears of pain and joy flowed after sixth place
Danilo Petrucci returned to the Superbike World Championship in Misano after his serious motocross crash in which he sustained several injuries. In front of his home crowd, the Italian from the Barni team delivered fireworks on his Ducati
There were question marks over his fitness, but “Petrux” gritted his teeth. He secured twelfth place on the grid in Superpole. In Saturday’s race, he finished ninth in the top 10, a result Petrucci repeated in the Superpole race.
And in Sunday’s race, the 33-year-old fought his way to sixth place. Tears flowed after crossing the finish line, as Petrucci was overwhelmed by pain, but also by emotion. The Italian fans celebrated his heroic performance.
“Danilo has achieved something extraordinary,” praised team boss Marco Barnabo, “because he was in a difficult physical condition. From the very first day there was the question of whether he would be able to ride the next session at all. But he always went beyond his limit.”
When Petrucci was in hospital after the motocross accident, there were doubts as to whether he would even be able to race at the highest level again. Due to the long breaks in the Superbike calendar, he only missed the Assen weekend.
“95 percent of my body is okay, but I have a lot of pain in my right shoulder,” he said ahead of the Misano weekend. “That causes problems when I brake. When I don’t have to brake, I have no pain on the straights.”
The pain in his shoulder increased over the course of the weekend. Petrucci therefore skipped the first half of the afternoon training session on Friday. At this point, he had doubts as to whether he would even be able to contest the first race on Saturday after Superpole.
“I started the race well, but in the second half of the race I could no longer use my right hand,” said Petrucci, describing Saturday. “I had a lot of pain in my shoulder. I was holding on to the bike with my legs.”
“I was really stiff and surprised that I was able to finish the race at all – and in the top 10 to boot.” In the long Sunday race, he fought a close duel with Kawasaki rider Axel Bassani and came out on top.
This sixth place felt like a victory. “When I woke up in the morning, I didn’t know how I could manage two races. In the Superpole race, my start was not good. I was afraid of crashing.”
“A lot of people overtook me, but they were so aggressive that they crashed into each other. Suddenly I found myself in ninth place. When I left the pit lane for race two and braked for the first time, I felt a lot of pain. “
On the grid, Petrucci therefore told his team that he might have to retire after a few laps. “It felt like a knife in my shoulder,” said the Italian. “My start was very good, the first corners were okay.”
“I was able to keep up the pace, although it was very painful. Bassani wasn’t far ahead of me, so I rode with him to shake off the riders behind. Then he got into trouble and I was able to overtake him.”
“But the last four laps were a nightmare. I tried to block it out, but when I crossed the finish line, it felt like someone had plunged a knife into my right shoulder. I was in a lot of pain.”
“After my crash, the doctor told me that he didn’t know if I would ever be able to ride again. Now I’ve finished sixth two months later. These are feelings between pain and joy. I can cry about that!”
Petrucci now has another month to heal the inflammation in his shoulder. This is because the Superbike World Championship does not return to Donington Park (Great Britain) until mid-July
