Danilo Petrucci was “worried” about Alvaro Bautista threat in Cremona World Superbike
“I was able to create a gap and he closed that gap a few tenths per lap.”
Danilo Petrucci secured victory in all three races at the Italian World Superbike round, but even after his dominant Race 1 performance he was in doubt about his potential.
Petrucci won both Race 1 and the Superpole Race by margins of around two seconds (2.5 seconds in Race 1, 1.7 seconds in the Superpole Race), but the performance of Alvaro Bautista had the Barni Ducati rider worried for Race 2.
Bautista had started 13th in Race 1 and the Superpole Race, but his performance in the latter saw him start sixth for Race 2.
So, while Petrucci admitted after Race 2, when speaking to WorldSBK.com, that “It was one of the best weekends in my career,” at Cremona, he added that “I didn’t expect to win the Superpole Race and Race 2.”
He explained: “I was a little bit worried. I had a lot of opponents, especially Alvaro [Bautista]; I knew he would be fast at the end of the race.
“I was able to create a gap and he closed that gap a few tenths per lap.
“It’s something really special. A new track, a new venue, a lot of people… I think everyone in Italy deserves this kind of day today.”
Petrucci became the fourth rider — after Jonathan Rea, Alvaro Bautista, and Toprak Razgatlioglu — to take three race wins in a single WorldSBK weekend with his Cremona exploits, as well as the first Independent Team rider to do so.
“It’s something that makes me proud,” Petrucci commented. “Yesterday, I was the first rider to win a race in so many categories, off-road and on-road, and today the first Independent rider to have three wins.
“We can improve our championship position, but we can’t beat a weekend like that.”
Petrucci is now fifth in the riders’ standings, three points behind Alex Lowes, and 31 behind Bautista.
